


Daddy Yondu?!

by WhiskeyBandit



Series: Guinevere [4]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Daddy Yondu, F/M, Fun, Guinevere pregnancy, Humor, New original characters, Romance, Yondu's got some issues to work through
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 01:07:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 23,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11818014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskeyBandit/pseuds/WhiskeyBandit
Summary: Yondu and Gwen had been together almost two years when the most unexpected thing happened. How did they handle it?This concept was presented to me by a fellow reader/writer. I had a hard time writing it, but by the end I fell in love with it. I hope you all enjoy it as well!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Toastiel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toastiel/gifts).



Gwen ran. Not for her life, not to catch up, not to hide. She just ran. For the first time in almost two years, she just… ran.

_Reluctantly crouched at the starting line_

_Engines pumping and thumping in time_

_The green light flashes_

_The flags go up_

_Churning and burning_

_They yearn for the cup_

Gwen thought back to her last visit on Terra with Yondu a few months back for Robbie’s 10th birthday. She had promised the boy that she would visit every year until he was old enough to join the crew. Him joining them was not something she wanted, but that was not up to her. It was an agreement he had made with Yondu. One she hoped he would either forget, or change his mind about by the time he turned 18. Yondu had no issues with Robbie joining, so long as he knew the risks and worked hard. He also really liked the boy, seeing as he reminded him of Peter so much, and the fact that Robbie thought so highly of him. The little shaggy haired brunette thought Gwen’s husband was the coolest thing since Han Solo. The memory made her smile. Her life was so much more peaceful now, and she was enjoying every second of it.

Gwen’s feet hit the pavement to each beat in her head. Wearing her old sneakers and listening to her old music. Her short, black ponytail bouncing back and forth... the blue tips long since faded out.

_They deftly maneuver and muscle for rank_

_Fuel burning fast on an empty tank_

_Reckless and wild, they pour through the turns_

_Their prowess is potent and secretly stern_

_As they speed through the finish, the flags go down_

_The fans get up and they get out of town_

_The arena is empty except for one man_

_Still driving and striving as fast as he can_

_The sun has gone down and the moon has come up_

_And long ago somebody left with the cup_

_But he’s driving and striving and hugging the turns_

_And thinking of someone for whom he still burns_

The cool night air kissed her pale skin as she ran through the city. Past the library, past the town hall, past the tall and ominous Nova Corps headquarters, towards the city park.

_He’s going the distance_

_He’s going for speed_

_She’s all alone (all alone)_

_All alone in her time of need_

_Because he’s racing and pacing and plotting the course_

_He’s fighting and biting and riding on his horse_

_He’s going the distance_

This park held a heavy significance for Gwen. There was the swing set where the mother pushed her children. There was the bench where the man shared an ice cream cone with a woman. And behind her was the town hall where the man rushed to after checking his watch. All reminders of one of the worst days of her life. But instead of hiding from them, she embraced them. She no longer had to hide. She was now welcome on Xandar. She could now see the city for its beauty, and it was a beautiful. The buildings were tall and bright, the streets were clean, the shops were gorgeous, the fountains were abundant and the parks were serene. Gwen decided that if she did ever settle down, this would be the place to do it.

But settling was not an option. Not now. Maybe not ever. They were always on the move. Her husband was a Ravager. Not just any Ravager, but a Captain. One of a hundred Captains in the Ravager Clan. And since the incident with the Kree, Stakar had lifted Yondu’s ban from the Clan. He and his crew were now full members once again.

Since the truce had been called with Nova Prime, Yondu decided to keep his jobs at least more or less on the up and up. He took less risky jobs, tried to make less enemies, and did his best to stay off of Nova Corps’ radar. Which is the only reason Gwen was able to run through the city now. They had taken a weekend of R&R in the city and Gwen was taking advantage of the downtime.

Gwen hadn’t actually gone for a run (one where she wasn’t being chased, or chasing someone else) since she first left Terra. She was grateful to be able to plug in her headphones and unplug mentally for a bit. Yondu was back at the hotel reading up on plans for some new m-ships he was thinking of purchasing. His were old and upgrades could only get you so far. That man hardly ever took a break unless Gwen forced him to.

Once Gwen reached the playground, she stopped and sat on the swing set. She must have really been out of shape because she had to stop to catch her breath and her side was aching. She decided to wait a few minutes before heading back. Gwen looked up at the large window at the top of the Nova Corps Headquarters building. Now, in the still night air, Gwen couldn’t think back to that day without seething anger in her heart for that woman that sent her back to Terra. She knew why Nova Prime did it. And if she had been in her place she probably would have done the same. She also knew full well that it was Nova Prime that eventually let her come back, but she still couldn’t control the feelings she felt. Which was odd, because Gwen was not normally an angry person.

She closed her eyes and swung back and forth, letting the wind brush across her face. She looked up at the sky and watched the stars above her. They were so much more brilliant here; bright and ridiculously colorful. Not dull and flat like on Terra. The only thing this place was missing was the chirping of crickets.

The ache in Gwen’s side had finally subsided, so she hopped up and headed back to her room. She turned her headphones up and bounded her feet on the pavement once more.

_Take my car and paint it black_

_Take my arm, break it in half_

_Say something, do it soon_

_It’s too quiet in this room_

_I need noise, I need the buzz of a sub_

_Need the crack of a whip_

_Need some blood in the cut_

_I need noise, I need the buzz of a sub_

_Need the crack of a whip_

_Need some blood in the cut_

_I need blood in the cut_

_I need blood in the cut_


	2. Chapter 2

“Bout time.” Yondu grumbled. He was sitting on the bed flipping through his tablet when Gwen walked back into the room.

“What’s wrong Yondu? You afraid I’m gonna run off with some crabby old Centaurian space pirate?” She mocked. She walked over and leaned on the bed, kissing him before heading to the bathroom to shower.

“Never know. You done it once already.” He teased back. He set the tablet down and followed her, stripping off his own clothes.

She started the shower and turned around, wrapping her hands around the blue man’s waist. “Don’t worry, babe. I’m a one-and-done kinda girl.”

“Lucky for me I found you first, then.” Yondu kissed his wife and pulled her close.

Gwen’s face contorted and she flinched away from him. “Ow!” The ache in her stomach returned and she grabbed her side to massage it.

“What’s this?” Yondu asked, looking down.

“Oh nothing. I got a pain while I was running. Probably just sore muscles.”

“Well then, nothing a warm shower can’t fix.” They both climbed into the shower. Yondu began scrubbing Gwen’s back. “What you think of us takin’ that job for Tivan?” He smoothed the washcloth across her shoulders, pushing her hair to the side.

“I dunno. I know it’s just an artifact, but I still have issues with the fact that he’s still keeping live creatures in his collection.” Gwen turned around and took the washcloth from Yondu. She turned him around and began scrubbing his back, admiring his blue skin in the process.

“We start refusin’ to take jobs from every unsavory character we come across, we’re gonna go broke real quick.”

“I know. That’s why I’m thinking about it instead of outright saying no.” Gwen flinched and grabbed her side again. She looked up at Yondu to make sure he didn’t see her face. “But the decision is ultimately up to you. You gotta do what you think is best.” She stumbled back when the pain hit again, there was no hiding it this time.

Yondu turned around with a concerned look, “Your stomach still hurtin’?”

Gwen looked up, slightly nervous, “Yeah. I don’t know what’s wrong. The pain keeps coming and going.”

“Come on. Let’s get you layin’ down.” Yondu shut off the water and grabbed a towel to wrap around her. He scooped her up and took her to the bed.”

“This is ridiculous, Yondu. I’m fine. It’s just a little ache.” Her face scrunched again.

“Yeah well yer face is tellin’ me a different story.” He set her down and went to get a towel himself. He dried off and threw on a pair of pants and called down to the front desk. “I need a medic up here asap.”

“Yondu!” Gwen snapped at him. “I don’t need a medic!”

“Thanks.” He hung the phone up and eyeballed Gwen. “I ain’t dealin’ with this on the ship. We take care of it now. The medicine here is better and they got better equipment.”

“Well then I’m at least getting dressed!” She tried to climb out of bed but Yondu stopped her.

“Nu uh! You stay put.” He grabbed a night shirt and shorts and a pair of panties out of her bag and tossed them at her.

Gwen scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Oh would you stop!” She dressed in the bed and then crossed her arms forcefully.

Yondu chuckled at his flustered wife and sat down on the bed next to her. “Better to be safe than sorry, baby girl.” He kissed her shoulder tenderly.

There was a knock at the door. Yondu walked over to open it and there stood a young woman, with bright pink skin, green hair and wide green eyes. She carried a large black bag slung over her shoulder. The girl’s eyes grew wider when she saw Yondu, and Gwen was certain her pink skin turned a darker shade at the sight of his bare chest. She looked over at Gwen sitting on the bed and smiled brightly. “Hi! I’m Seelie, the medic tech. Someone called for me?”

“Come on in, she’s over there.” Yondu gestured to Gwen and shut the door behind Seelie. “She’s been complainin’ her stomach hurts.”

“I have not been _complaining_. You’re making me sound like a wuss!” She huffed.

Seelie set her bag down on the bed and sat down next to Gwen, “We’ll let’s just take a look here. Could you lie down for me, please?” The girl pulled a clear glass tablet out of her bag and started pushing buttons.

Gwen laid flat on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, still annoyed. She flinched again when she felt another pinch in her stomach.

“See!” Yondu pointed, “There! I told ya.”

“Hush you!” Gwen scolded him again.

Seelie chuckled and placed the tablet over Gwen’s stomach. A very clear internal view of her abdomen popped up on the screen. Seelie inspected the image carefully, a focused expression fixed on her features. She zoomed in and out on the image, pushing buttons and taking in the information.

Both Gwen and Yondu were quiet, waiting for Seelie to say something, or even change her expression. They eyed each other cautiously. Gwen started to fear that maybe something _was_ wrong with her. It was taking an awful long time to check her over. A tumor? A cyst? Maybe she ate something that was poisonous to Terrans and nobody knew it.

“Okay.” Seelie finally sat up and took the tablet off of her stomach. “Well I don’t see anything wrong at all.”

Gwen let out a heavy sigh and eyeballed Yondu smugly as she sat back up, “I told you. You worry for nothing.”

“You’re perfectly healthy.” Seelie smiled as she put the tablet back in her bag. “There are no abnormalities at all, and the implantation looks like it took very well.”

Gwen’s eyes popped, “Excuse me?”

“The implantation… It took well. That’s probably why you’re felling residual pains now. But it’s nothing to worry about.”

Yondu stared at Seelie, bewildered, “Implantation of _what_?”

Seelie countered Yondu’s stare with a confused one of her own, “Well, the embryo, of course.”

“Embryo?!” Gwen yelped, stunned.

Seelie looked back and forth between Yondu and Gwen, “You mean you didn’t know she was pregnant?”

Yondu’s face was full of shock, “No! We did _not_ know she was pregnant!” He said a bit too loudly.

“How is that even possible?!” The panic in Gwen’s voice was starting to overshadow her confusion. “We’re not the same species!”

“Oh no, it’s possible.” Seelie responded, much more calmly. “It’s rare when it happens, but it’s possible. Like a combination lock, you have to get just the right genetic mix and voila! You’ve unlocked a whole new being!” Her cheery and chipper attitude was a stark contrast to Gwen and Yondu’s shock and panic.

“Two years! We been sexin’ it up almost on the daily for two years and this ain’t never happened before!” Yondu was heading into a level of hysteria Gwen had never seen before. If she wasn’t so freaked out herself, she may have found his reaction comical.

“Like I said, it’s rare. In fact, it may never happen again. Kind of like winning the lottery.” Seelie nodded, slightly impressed.

Gwen was a rollercoaster of emotions, going from shock to panic and now to worry, “But wait… could my body reject it? You know, like a foreign object or something?”

Seelie chuckled, “I might have said yes, _if_ I hadn’t seen that sonogram. It’s implanted deep. It’s not going anywhere.” She saw Gwen’s eyes glaze over. “Is this your first, Mrs. Udonta?”

Gwen nodded, still in a daze.

Seelie grinned and pulled a pamphlet out of her bag and handed it to Gwen, “Well, here. It won’t all apply to you, seeing as we’re dealing with different species, but it should help. Drink lots of water, get some rest and make sure you get checked out regularly.” She stood up and slung her bag back over her shoulder, “Well, I’d best be off now. Good luck to you both!” She shook both of their hands and headed to the door. “Have a good evening!”

She was just about to walk out the door when Gwen stopped her, “Wait! How far along am I?”

“Oh, about three weeks.” Seelie smiled and nodded, “Congratulations!” and with that she shut the door.

Yondu, in full shock, slowly walked over and sat on the bed next to Gwen. They both stared silently at the wall in front of them for a very long time.


	3. Chapter 3

After about an hour of silence, Yondu finally spoke up. “What if-“

“No.” Gwen quickly shut him down.

“You don’t even know what I was gonna say.”

“I know exactly what you were gonna say. You were going to suggest I go back to my mother’s. The answer is no.”

More silence.

“Well what about-“

“No.”

Yondu rolled his eyes, “You can’t possibly-“

“I’m not going to stay with Peter either.” She folded her arms defensively.

“How the hell did you-“

“Because I know where your head’s at. You don’t want me on the ship. You think it’s too dangerous.”

“Well don’t you?” Yondu looked her in the eyes.

“I don’t know. Maybe. But the last thing I want to do right now is be anywhere away from you.”

Yondu sighed and wrapped Gwen in his arms.

As much as that little thing had attached itself to her insides, she was starting to become quite attached to it as well. She was afraid for it. Every fiber of her being wanted to protect it. But she knew what that meant. Things would have to change. She didn’t want anything to change. She loved her husband, she loved living on the Eclector, and she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. She knew having children meant making sacrifices, but sacrificing your family should never be part of the deal. She needed her husband, her partner, now more than ever. “I need you Yondu. I can’t do this on my own.”

Yondu hugged his wife tight. Caressing her arm, he kissed the top of her head. “I just want to keep you safe.”

Gwen felt another mood swing smack her in the face. She pushed him away and climbed up off the bed. “You sound just like my mother.” She said heatedly, pacing the floor.

“Now that’s goin’ too far!” he snapped back.

“Listen to yourself! You’re willing to give up what we got just to keep me safe?”

“It’s not just you this time!” He climbed off the bed and walked around to her, “I gotta think of that baby! I ain’t willin’ to give it up and sure as hell don’t wanna put it in any danger!”

Gwen froze at his use of the word ‘baby’. He said it. It was out there and it was real. Gwen shook off her surprise and resumed her defense. She decided to bring in the big guns. She knew it would be a low blow, but she wanted to make sure she got her point across loud and clear. She took a deep breath and braced herself for his anger. “You’re really willing to let this child grow up without you? You gonna leave him like your parents left you?”

Yondu’s eyes burned like fire and his fin lit up brightly, “How _dare_ you!” he spat at her furiously. “This ain’t the same and you know it!”

Gwen didn’t back down, “You’re child needs his father, Yondu, and _you_ know it!”

“I ain’t no father!” Yondu shouted. He stood, staring angrily at Gwen. She didn’t respond, but didn’t give in either. After a long moment Yondu looked down at the floor, his resolve starting to waver. Gwen could see his insecurities bubbling up through his rage. “How could I be? I’m old, I’m mean and I’m hard!”

Gwen folded her arms and smirked, “I know one specific Terran who would strongly disagree with that.”

Yondu sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, still staring at the floor. He mulled her words over in his head, trying to decide if she was right. Peter did turn out to be a pretty good kid. But was that because of him, or in spite of him? Yondu scoffed, “I told him my crew wanted to eat him.” He shook his head.

Gwen walked over to Yondu and stood in front of him, she took his face in her hands and tilted his head up to hers. She caressed his face and smiled down at him lovingly, “You did what you had to do to make him tough. That’s… kinda your thing.” She chuckled. “I have no doubt you’ll do the same for this one.”

“You really want me raisin’ your child?” he asked sarcastically.

Gwen grinned proudly at her Centaurian, “I wouldn’t want anyone else.”

Yondu let out a heavy sigh and rested his forehead on her stomach. He lifted her shirt up and kissed her stomach again and again, finally embracing this new little life that he helped create.

Gwen was taken aback by Yondu’s change of heart. It was as if he had been holding back, but she had given him permission to be happy. A rush of warm emotions came over her and she decided to run with it. She pushed Yondu back onto the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. She kissed his lips tenderly and grabbed for his pants.

“Whoa, what are you doin? What if we hurt it?” Yondu asked nervously.

“You heard Seelie, he ain’t going anywhere. He’ll be fine.” She kissed down his neck to his collarbone and then licked back up to his ear.

Yondu grumbled, “Alright but we’re takin’ it easy from now on. No more crazy stuff.”

“Yes Captain.” Gwen grinned playfully.

Yondu wrapped his arms around Gwen and kissed her passionately.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, while Gwen packed up her bag to go back to the ship, she giggled to herself thoughtfully.  

“What you gigglin’ about?” Yondu asked. He was standing at the mirror polishing his fin.

“Centerran.” She said proudly.

“What?” he looked at her curiously.

“He’s a Centerran. Half Centaurian, half Terran. I just made it up. I think it’s cute.”

Yondu chuckled and shook his head, going back to tending to his fin, “I ain’t sure on how all this works, but I don’t rightly think you can just name a new species.”

Gwen scoffed, “Whatever. We made him, we can name him. And I say he’s a Centerran.”

“I guess it’s kinda cool soundin’.” Yondu had to admit.

“So are we going to have to register him and all that? Like, will he have a birth certificate and stuff?” Gwen wondered aloud.

“Don’t really know. Guess we’ll figure all that out later.” He put his cloth and polish back in the tin and put it back in his bag. “You keep saying ‘he’, why is that?”

Gwen shrugged, “I dunno. Better than callin him an _it_.”

“How long before we’ll know for sure?” Yondu pulled his jacket on and straightened the collar.

“I don’t know.” Gwen looked up at him with concern. “Does your medic know about babies? Or am I gonna have to go see someone? Oh god… who’s going to deliver him?!” The realities of pregnancy, on a ship no less, were starting to overwhelm Gwen. “ _Where_ am I going to deliver him? What if there are problems? Does every planet have a hospital?”

Yondu put his hands on her shoulders to calm her, “Why don’t we hire someone? Someone schooled on baby makin’? It’ll be there job to make sure you’re taken care of.”

“Oh, you mean like a midwife?”

“I don’t know what that is, but for arguments sake, I’ll say yes.” Yondu chuckled.

“Where are we gonna find one? Especially one that’s willing to travel with us?”

“What about that Seelie girl? She seemed nice enough and knew what she was talkin’ about.”

“I doubt we can convince her to come with us. What if she has a family?”

“Maybe she can refer us to someone.”

“Okay but how are we even going to find her?”

“Well, let’s start at the front desk. They’re the ones who called her.”

 

“Checking out?” The desk clerk asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” Yondu handed the man the key. “We had a medic come to our room last night. We had some more questions for her. You know where we might find her?”

“She probably works at the medical center across the street. The front office should be able to help you out.”

“Thanks,” Yondu nodded and paid the man.

 

They headed back to the ship to drop their stuff off before going to the medical center.

“What if she’s not working? They’re not going to tell us where she lives.”

“We’ll figure somethin’ out.”

They walked into the center, heading straight for the front desk. An orange man with large eyes, similar to Seelie’s looked up from his monitor, “Hello, welcome to Xandar Medical, how can we help you today?”

Gwen gave the receptionist a warm smile, “Hi, the hotel across the street had a medic come to our room last night. I had a few more questions for her and wondered if she was still working?”

“Well you can ask any medic on staff-“

“I’m sure that’s true, but I really liked her and would rather deal with her personally.”

“Well, okay,” The man went back to his monitor, “What was her name?”

“Seelie? She didn’t give us a last name.”

The man looked at the clock on the wall, “You’re in luck. Her shift is just about to end, I’ll call her down for you. Go ahead and have a seat.”

 

“Oh thank you so much!” Gwen bounced on her feet before Yondu led her to a nearby chair.

They waited about 5 minutes before Seelie came down in her street clothes and a backpack. “Hey guys! Have you recovered from your shock yet?” She said jokingly.

Yondu scoffed, “Yeah right.”

“Shush you!” Gwen scolded. She turned back to Seelie and smiled, “We need to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Um…” Gwen looked over at the receptionist, who was eyeing them curiously. “How about outside?”

“Okay.”

The three of them stepped outside and started walking down the street. “Okay so, obviously we’re Ravagers.” She pointed to herself and Yondu, the badges on their uniforms clearly visible. “And we don’t really stay put for long. So we’re kind of in need of a midwife.”

“What’s a mid-wife?” Seelie asked, confused.

“Oh, um… a birthing assistant? Someone to monitor the baby, help me with questions and help deliver when the time comes.”

“Oh. I don’t know of anyone like that.”

“We were wonderin’ if you might want the job?” Yondu added.

“Me?!” Seelie was surprised “Oh I don’t know.”

“How much the center payin’ you?” He decided to sweeten the pot.

“Twenty units an hour.” Seelie looked at him inquisitively.

“We can do twenty units an hour.”

“Well that doesn’t sound like much of a deal.” She wrinkled her nose.

“Round the clock.” Yondu added.

“What?!” Seelie’s green eyes widened.

“And you’ll get free room and board.” He finished without hesitation.

Gwen smiled eagerly at Seelie, waiting for a response.

“What if I want to quit? What about after the baby is born?”

Gwen answered that one, “We’ll bring you back any time you’re ready. No questions asked.”

She looked at them both curiously “Would you guys excuse me for a moment? I’ll be right back.” She ran back into the center.

“Oh god, she’s calling the police on us. She thinks we’re crazy. We’ll never see her again.” Gwen chewed on her lip nervously.

Yondu looked around, “Calm down. We don’t know what she’s doin’. Let’s give her a minute.”

After a few minutes, Seelie came running back without the backpack, but wearing an ear to ear grin, “Okay. You’ve got a deal.” She excitedly shook Yondu’s hand with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

The trio headed to Yondu’s m-class ship with a few of Seelie’s bag from her house.

“Wow! Nice ship!” Seelie gawked all around inside.

Gwen chuckled, strapping herself into the copilot seat, “Wait til you see the Eclector. Buckle up.”

About three hours into the trip, Seelie woke up from her nap. She could hear Yondu and Gwen bickering about something, but she wasn’t sure what. “What’s wrong?” She asked curiously.

“Oh, nothing.” Gwen huffed and eyeballed Yondu. “We’re just having a disagreement about where you’ll be bunking.”

“Uh… somewhere private, I hope?” she interjected.

“Yes,” Gwen raised an eyebrow at Yondu. “And close to us. Say, maybe the officer’s quarters? Right honey?” She glared at him.

Yondu rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Why you always gotta get yer way?”

Gwen smiled patted his leg, “Because you love me.” She leaned over and kissed him.

“Awe,” Seelie grinned at the couple, “You two are so cute!”

Yondu’s eyes popped up “You hear what she called me?” he looked back at Seelie and scolded her halfheartedly, “There’ll be none of that talk on my ship!”

Gwen giggled and went to go sit with Seelie, “Okay so there are a few rules on the ship. One is, Yondu’s a badass and don’t nobody forget it.”

Yondu nodded sternly, “That’s right!”

“Shush you!” she teased back. “But seriously, Yondu’s crew stays in line for one reason and one reason only. They know he’ll kill ‘em if they don’t.”

Seelie gulped hard, looking over at the blue man, “Is he going to kill me?” Seelie asked in a whisper.

“Not a fat chance in hell.” Gwen whispered back. “But we do have to act the part when on the ship. That comes to the second rule, know your place. No back talking to him, not _ever,_ in front of his crew. You want to bark and yell at him behind closed doors, go for it. But _never_ in front of the men.”

Seelie nodded, listening carefully.

“And the third rule is for your own safety. Don’t take no shit. Don’t let the men see you weak. Yondu’s pretty much gotten rid of all of the troublemakers, but still, better to not provoke them. If they see weakness, they’re likely to pounce. But I can teach you some self-defense techniques too.”

“No you won’t!” Yondu snapped back from the cockpit, “Me or Kraglin can do that, but you ain’t liftin’ a finger less you have to!”

Gwen rolled her eyes, “Fine! Yondu or Kraglin will teach you.”

“Who’s Kraglin?” Seelie asked.

“Kraglin Obfonteri, he’s Yondu’s first mate. He’s a really good guy and probably my best friend on the ship besides Yondu.

“Oh, okay,” Seelie nodded agreeably.

Gwen smiled sheepishly, “I guess we should have told you all this before you got on the ship, huh?”

“It’s okay,” Seelie shrugged, “I probably still would have agreed to it.” She laughed nervously.

“Okay so, what are the rules again?”

Seelie listed off on her pink fingers, “Badass Yondu, Know your place and don’t take no shit.”

Gwen smiled, “You got it.”

 

The m-class finally reached the Eclector and Kraglin and two grunts were there to greet them at the catwalk. The bay doors opened and Kraglin nodded, “Captain, Gwen.” He eyed the pink girl with green hair and wide green eyes suspiciously, but didn’t address her. “Welcome back.”

Seelie on the other hand, smiled at Kraglin coyly. Gwen could tell she was already crushing on him. She giggled, remembering how she crushed on Yondu the first time she saw him. These Ravager boys just had a way about them.

“Kraglin,” Yondu nodded, “Boys, take these bags to Roark’s old room.” He pointed to Seelie’s bags.

Yondu stepped off the ship and walked hastily down the catwalk.

Gwen turned around and quickly gestured for Seelie to follow. The girls followed after the men who instantly went into ship business.

“We got a call from Tivan a couple days ago. He’s still waitin’ on an answer about that job.”

Yondu waved his hand, “Tell him I’ll call him back.”

Kraglin looked back down at his tablet, “Burk says he’s in need of more mining supplies.”

“Already? What the hell does he do, _eat_ them?”

Kraglin did his best to stifle a laughter as he continued, “And we got some requests from a few others for odd jobs.”

Yondu looked at Kraglin and nodded, “Alright. Set up a meeting for 1700, we’ll go over the docket then.”

“Yes sir.”

Kraglin was about to walk off but Yondu called him back, “Nope, come with me.”

“Yes sir.” Kraglin snuck a quick peek back at Seelie and then turned his eyes forward again. Gwen saw it, but Seelie was too busy eyeing the ship to notice.

They walked into Yondu’s quarters and as soon as the door shut, Kraglin let his guard down, “What the hell, Cap?” He gestured to Seelie, “Who is this? You startin’ a haram now?”

Gwen laughed out loud and wrapped her arms around Yondu, “He’s too busy tryin’ to keep me happy.” She stroked his beard with her fingertips.

Yondu grinned, “Seelie, this is Kraglin, my first mate. Kraglin, this is Seelie. Seelie’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

“How long’s a while?” Kraglin raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, about eight months or so.” Gwen grinned.

“Eight months? Why eight months?” He tilted his head like a confused puppy.

Yondu sighed, “She’s going to be Gwen’s personal medic and birthing assistant.”

“ _Birthing assistant_?” He sneered “Why you need a…” The lightbulb went on and Kraglin smacked his forehead with his hands, He looked Gwen up and down “Oh! Oh! Oh my gods! No way!”

Gwen laughed and nodded vigorously, “Yup!”

“Oh my gods!” He held his hands out and reached to give Gwen a hug. He squeezed her tight and lifted her off the ground, “Oh!” He quickly put her back down and looked at her stomach, “Did I hurt you?! You okay in there? I can’t believe this!” He stepped back and pointed back and forth between Gwen and Yondu, “I didn’t know you two could… um… do the thing. This is crazy!”

“Yeah well we were just as surprised.” Yondu shook his head.

Seelie chuckled, “I’m pretty sure you were convinced the world had imploded.”

“Oh, right” Kraglin held his hand out for Seelie, remembering she was there, “Nice to meet you. You better take real good care of our Gwen. We’re kind of attached to her.”

Seelie shook Kraglin’s hand eagerly, “Well I promise to do my best. I’m not really a prenatal care medic, but what I don’t know I can learn.”

Kraglin put his hands on his hips, “Wow, we haven’t had a kid on this ship since Peter. This is gonna be interesting.”

“Peter?” Seelie asked.

“Peter Quill, a-k-a Star Lord. You know him?” Gwen replied.

“I know _of_ him! Who doesn’t? He saved the galaxy, like… twice!” Seelie beamed excitedly, “You guys know him? Like, _really_ know him?”

Gwen grinned at Yondu proudly, “Yondu here raised him from a kid. Taught him everything he knows.”

Seelie’s eyes about popped out of her head, “Oh my gods, I had no idea!” She reached to shake his hand enthusiastically, “It is such an honor to meet you sir! I’m gonna be delivering your kid! How exciting is this?!”

Yondu smiled, slightly annoyed and eventually pulled his hand back, “Okay, okay, not that big of a deal. Peter’s a good kid. We'll introduce you to him sometime.”

“That would be so awesome! Thank you so much!”

“Yeah, well, don’t thank me yet. Wait’ll you meet him.” Yondu nodded to Kraglin, “You take her to her new room? Let her get set up? We’ll all meet back here after the meeting for dinner.”

Kraglin looked surprised, “Me too, sir?”

“Yeah, sure, less you don’t want to?”

“Oh, no sir, I’d love to! Thank you.” Kraglin gave Gwen another hug and then led Seelie off to her new room.

As soon as the doors shut, Gwen turned to Yondu and laughed, “She’s a firecracker, isn’t she?”

Yondu tilted his head and let out a breath, “Kraglin’s in trouble.”

 

“So how’d they talk you into this job?” Kraglin chuckled to Seelie.

“Twenty units an hour.” She grinned.

“Wow. That’s almost as much as I get.” He punched in the code to Roark’s old room and walked in. The room was dusty from lack of use. “It’s not as nice as the Captain’s room. Nobody’s is. But it’s big and you can make it your own. We’ll need to come up with a code for your door. It’s five digits. You want us to make one up or you want to make your own?”

“I can make one.” She walked over to Kraglin who was punching buttons into his tablet.

“Okay, here,” he handed her the tablet, “punch it in. Make sure you don’t forget it.” She took the tablet and entered the numbers and handed it back. “Okay, let’s go make sure it works.” He took her outside the door and had her punch the numbers in. She did, and the light turned red with an audible buzz.

Kraglin looked back down at his tablet, “What happened? It should have worked.”

Seelie giggled, “No. I entered it wrong on purpose. I wanted to see if the door really stayed locked. Plus the look on your face was funny.”

Kraglin shook his head with a grin, “You’re gonna be a handful, aren’t ya?”

Seelie smiled back “Maybe.”

“How old are you?” Kraglin asked.

“Just turned twenty eight. Why? How old are you?” She appraised him carefully.

“Thirty six.” He straightened up. Kraglin was just a few inches taller than Seelie.

“You Xandarian?” She asked again.

“Yeah. Why?”

Seelie punched in the right code this time. The light turned green and the door slid open. “Just checkin’.” She smacked Kraglin on the ass as she walked back into her room and shut the door.

Kraglin’s face turned a beet red and he coughed hard, looking all around to make sure nobody saw what had just happened. He straightened himself up and took off down the hallway to the deck office.


	6. Chapter 6

Kraglin rushed into the office with the meeting already in progress and quickly sat down. Yondu looked up from his call with Tivan and gave Kraglin a disgruntled look. “Alright Tivan. We’ll call after the job’s done.”

“Pleasure doing business with you Captain.” Tivan smiled and ended the call.

“Glad you could finally make it.” Yondu scolded his first mate.

Kraglin looked down at the table, “Sorry sir, I got held up a bit.”

Yondu grinned knowingly, “Yeah I bet.” He looked back down at his tablet, “Okay we’ll deal with these other two issues in a minute but first I gotta make an announcement.”

“This about that new girl?” Tullk asked, slightly amused.

Gef chuckled “Yeah Cap, what you got yerself another girl?”

“Enough!” Yondu spoke sternly. “The new recruit is Seelie. She’s only on temporarily. Again, off limits.” He looked over at Kraglin, who turned a new shade of red and refused to look at the captain, and a slight smirk crossed his face.

Moab spoke up next, “Well what she here for, Cap?”

Yondu sighed and looked around the table, “She is a medic and she’s here to take care of Gwen for a while.”

“What’s wrong with Gwen?” Tullk jerked up, concern washing over his face.

“She sick er sumthin’?” Moab added.

“No, she ain’t sick. Nothin’s wrong with her. We’re just gonna have a new little crew member on board in a few months.” Yondu couldn’t help but grin proudly at the words that he just spoke.

The room erupted into cheers and shouts and the men all stood up to shake Yondu’s hand and pat him on the back.

“Well done, old man!” Tullk laughed and smacked Yondu on the back.

“Ya’ll were just determined, weren’tcha?” Gef shook Yondu’s hand.

“Now we really gonna have ta clean up round here, ain’t we?” Moab grumbled.

 

Gwen had finished putting her clothes away when there was a knock at the door. She walked over to open it and Seelie smiled at her brightly. “Hey kiddo, come on in. You getting settled okay?” Gwen sat back down on the couch where she had been reading on her tablet.

“Just got my room all cleaned up, and got my door code.” Seelie plopped down on the couch next to Gwen. She stared out the window, “That view is amazing.”

“I know, right? It’s one of my favorite things on this ship. That and the rec room.”

“Where’s the rec room?” Seelie asked.

“Oh I guess I’ve got to take you on a tour, don’t I?” Gwen chuckled. “It’s funny, Peter gave me the tour of this place almost two years ago, and now I’m giving someone else a tour.”

“You know Peter too?!” Seelie beamed.

“Oh yeah,” Gwen grinned, “He’s the one who picked me up on Terra. He introduced me to Yondu. I lived with him for my first few weeks out here.”

“Wow. I am super jealous of your life.” Seelie laughed.

“Well you just jumped on the crazy train with me, so I’m sure your about to go for quite the ride yourself. C’mon. Let’s go take that tour. You remember the rules?”

Seelie nodded, “Know your place, don’t take no shit.”

 

Gwen showed Seelie all around the ship. The one place she didn’t take her to was the engine room. That was her special place with her boys. She didn’t want Seelie invading that space. After the tour, the girls went back to the room to talk until the meeting ended. Seelie asked Gwen about a million questions. Like how she met Peter and Yondu. How her and Yondu wound up together and what it was that she saw in the space pirate anyhow.

Gwen laughed, “He was just so full of life. A very ‘take the bull by the horns’ kinda guy. He has a very magnetic personality. I was so meek and confused by this whole new world and I clung to him like a little lost puppy.”

“Awe, that’s so sweet. Has he been everything you thought he’d be?”

“No actually, I didn’t realize how many facets there were to him. There have been times where he’s been so gentle and caring with me, times where he’s been tough and strict, and times where I’ve seen him kill half a dozen men without a second thought.”

“Wow.”

“Yondu is probably the smartest, strongest and most complicated man I have ever met. I still haven’t figured him out.”

“You think he’ll be a good dad?”

“Oh I know he will. He raised Peter, and we all know how that turned out.”

Seelie laughed, “Yeah that’s true.”

“And he’s done so much for me, too. He brought out the ‘kick ass’ side of me, also. I guess making people strong is his M-O.” Gwen looked down and patted her stomach gently, “So if this kid is going to survive out here in this great big wide world, he’s gonna need his daddy to make him strong too.”

“Awe, stop you’re gonna make me cry!”

 

The door to the room opened up and Yondu and Kraglin walked in with someone from the kitchen staff. They had brought a cart full of food for everyone.

“There’s my baby girl.” Yondu smiled at Gwen.

Gwen hopped up from the couch and ran to Yondu, jumping into his arms. She kissed him hotly and smiled, “Did you miss me?”

“Maybe a little bit.”

Gwen climbed down from Yondu and they all sat down at the table to eat.

“So Seelie,” Yondu asked first, “When will we be able to tell if it’s a boy or girl?”

“About fifteen weeks. Right now it’s just a little cluster of cells. Those cells will start arranging and rearranging until they form an actual fetus and it’ll start taking shape from there. We’ll be able to see what sex it is, what color skin it’ll have, if it’ll have a fin or hair. It’s all really neat.”

“A fin, huh? You think it might have a fin?” Yondu wondered nervously.

“Yondu,” Gwen cautioned him, knowing where he was headed, “Not something you have to worry about right now.”

“Well how am I supposed to explain why he has a fin and I don’t?” he asked gruffly.

Gwen put her hand on his and looked him in the eyes, “You’ll tell him the truth. And you’ll tell him to be proud of it.”

Yondu furrowed his eyebrows and went back to eating, “Why you gotta be so damn smart?” He teased her.

“Hey, that’s my line.” Gwen retorted.

“So Seelie, how long you been a medic tech?” Kraglin asked, attempting to change the subject.

“About three years.” Seelie rested her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand and smiled at Kraglin stupidly, “My life is boring. How long have you been a Ravager?”

Gwen gave Yondu a knowing smirk and went back to eating.

“Uh… ‘bout all my life. My pops was a Ravager.” Kraglin was trying very hard to keep the conversation platonic, but Seelie was determined to plow through that boundary anyway.

Seelie sighed, “I think you’re _very_ interesting.”

Yondu was trying hard not to choke on his food. He turned his head towards Gwen and laughed silently at Kraglin’s futility.

“Um… thanks?” Kraglin mumbled, becoming more flustered.

“What’d you think of the ship so far?” Yondu decided to throw him a bone.

“It’s awesome! I’ve never lived on a ship before. Been on a couple for cruises and whatnot, but never lived on one. This is going to be a neat experience!”

“Yeah just wait til it slows down and you’re bored outta your mind. That’s when you’ll be wantin’ to run home.”

Seelie looked back at Kraglin again and winked, “Oh I think I could come up with a few ways to keep myself busy.”

Kraglin gulped hard and blushed again. Yondu had never seen him blush, ever, in his life, and that made twice in one day.

Dinner had finally ended and the rounds of questions finally slowed. Yondu called down to the kitchen to have the food cart taken back. He patted Kraglin on the back and grinned at his first mate, “Why don’t you walk Seelie down to her room, make sure she gets there okay.”

“Uh… yes sir.” Kraglin was still obviously very rattled and Yondu didn’t quite understand why.

“Gwen could you wait out in the hall with Seelie? I gotta talk to Kraglin for a sec.”

“Sure,” Gwen smiled and led Seelie out of the room.

Yondu put his hand on Kraglin’s shoulder, “What’s the deal here, man? You ain’t never acted like this before?”

Kraglin gulped again, “Well sir, you said she was off limits.”

Yondu chuckled and cracked his first mate hard on the back, “Not to you, boy. Not to you.”

“Really? You sure?” Kraglin’s nervous expression started to fade into a grin.

Yondu nodded to the door, “She got a hitch in her step for you, boy. Go get ‘er!”

Kraglin nodded back with an ear to ear grin, “Yes sir!”

The door opened and Kraglin walked out with a devilish grin, “Seelie, you ready?”

“You bet, handsome.” She hooked her arm around his and walked off, waving goodbye to Gwen.

Yondu took the cart of food and set it outside the door. They both walked back in and Gwen snuggled up to her husband, “What was that all about?” she asked, amused.

“Oh I told the boys in the meetin’ that she was off limits. Kraglin was afraid I was gonna vent him if he touched her.” Yondu chuckled.

 

When they reached Seelie’s room, Kraglin didn’t even have to be asked to come in. He grabbed the girl around the waist and led her into the room. He whipped her around and kissed her square on the mouth, with his hand on the back of her neck.

Seelie pulled back, stunned, “What’s with the change of heart?” Seelie giggled.

“Oh… Well, Cap gave me permission to… you know… pursue you.” He went back to kissing her eagerly.

She stopped him again, “Wait, you had to get permission from the Captain to get in my pants?”

“Oh no,” Kraglin corrected, “I had to get permission to even _touch_ you. Standing order is nobody’s allowed to touch you without his _and_ your permission.”

Seelie giggled playfully, “Wow, your Captain doesn’t mess around.”

“No ma’am.” He pulled off her shirt and kissed her neck hungrily.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Gwen called Seelie into her room.

“What’s up?” Seelie asked.

“Well, I was going to call Peter and tell him the news and thought you’d like to sit in.” Gwen replied.

“Oh yay! This is so exciting!” Seelie was all smiles.

“Don’t get too excited. He’s really just a normal guy with a big squishy heart.” Gwen warned.

Seelie giggled, “Yeah from what Kraglin has told me, those two had had a rivalry going on for years.”

“Luckily I wasn’t there for that.” Gwen put the call in and waited for a response.

Peter’s face popped up on the monitor and he smiled brightly. “Hey lil sis! What’s up? Everything cool?”

“Oh everything’s fine.” She smirked. “Peter this is Seelie, she wanted to meet ‘the great Star Lord’.” Gwen teased with a mocking tone on his self-proclaimed outlaw name.

“Hi Seelie! Nice to meet you.” His smile turned to a frown as he looked back at Gwen. “What the heck is Yondu doin’ with another chick on the ship?”

“Well that’s what I was calling you about. Seelie is my personal medic-”

Peter wouldn’t even let her finish before he blurted out in panic, “Medic?! What’d you need a medic for? You sick?”

“No, not sick. In fact you know how you keep insisting on the big brother title?” Gwen grinned waiting for a response.

“Well yeah, cause, I’m taller, you know that.”

“Yeah well, what would you think about the title of Uncle Peter instead?” She held her breath waiting for a response.

“ _Uncle_ Peter? What do you mean?” Peter still wasn’t connecting the dots.

“Gwen’s gonna have a baby, ya knuckle head!” Seelie laughed at Peter through the monitor.

“No shit!” Peter jumped up out of his seat, going out of view of the screen. “No fucking way! Gamora! Drax! Rocket! Groot! C’mere quick!” He plopped back down in the seat and stared intently into the monitor. “You’re not messing with me here, are you? You’re really gonna have a kid?!”

Gwen laughed, “Yup!”

“ _Yondu’s_ kid??” Peter was still looking for verification.

Gwen laughed louder, “Yes! Yondu’s kid!”

The rest of the Milano crew crowded around the screen as Peter told them the news.

Gamora looked into the monitor wide eyed, “Well… how? How is that possible? I thought two different species couldn’t procreate.”

Seelie jumped into the conversation again, “Some different species can reproduce easily. Though with as different as Terrans and Centaurian are, it’s less likely. It’s possible but very rare. Gwen and Yondu just got really lucky.”

Rocket snorted, “Well when you get ‘lucky’ as often as they do, at that point it just comes down to a numbers game.” He laughed at his own joke.

“Ha ha, Laugh it up fuzzball!” Gwen chided him playfully.

Drax nodded with a sincere smile, “Congratulations on creating a new offspring Gwen. You’ll have to tell us the tale of your impregnation the next time we visit!”

“Um… I think I’ll keep that one to myself for now Drax.” Gwen laughed as her face blushed red. She didn’t want to mention that she honestly had no idea when she conceived, seeing as Rocket was right. Even after two years, she and Yondu were quite active in, and out of, the bedroom.

Yondu had just finished up another officer’s meeting when he walked into the room. “What the hell’s goin’ on in here?” He walked over to see the Milano crew scrunched into the screen. “Hey Peter. Gwen tellin’ you about the baby?”

“Yeah. Congrats there, pops! Just do me one favor with this kid will ya?” Peter smirked.

“What’s that?”

“Don’t tell ‘em the crew’s gonna eat ‘em!” Peter laughed heartily on the other side of the screen.

“Shut it boy, little fear did you good.” He teased back.

“Alright, we gotta head out, we got a job on Boson. Congrats Gwen, Yondu. Talk to ya’ll later!” And with that Gwen disconnected the call.


	8. Chapter 8

The Eclector took orbit around Jesebet, a planet near the edges of the galaxy. The crew was on a mission from Tivan, The Collector, in search of an ancient trinket he wanted to add to his collection. Gwen still didn’t very much like the idea of working for Tivan, but it was money, and it was legal. They weren’t exactly in a position to say no. Not to mention refusing Tivan would not bode well for their reputation and would possibly hinder any future opportunities.  

“You’re not goin!” Yondu scolded Gwen. He was getting ready to head down to the m-ships to fly to the surface.

“You need to stop treating me like a china doll. I’m not going to break!”

“What’s a china doll? Know what, never mind. It don’t matter. Ya still ain’t goin!”

“Damn you, Yondu!”

“I said no! That’s final! You wanna spit fire and get pissy at me, fine, but I ain’t lettin’ you on that ship!”

“You’re taking this too far!” She stomped her foot at him.

Yondu quickly swept across the floor and in an instant he was in her face. He stared at her for a long moment, and in the silence, his expression transformed from anger to adoration. He held his hand to her face and studied her features carefully before speaking. “I’d rather take it too far, than not far enough.”

Gwen was powerless against his affectionate side. Her resolve fizzled and she melted in his hands. He kissed her tenderly and then left the room without another word.

A few moments after he was gone, she realized what he had done. Him and his captivating ways charmed her once again. “Damnit!” She folded her arms and huffed.

 

Gwen was headed to the engine room to visit her friends for a game of cards when she felt another pain in her stomach, only this time much stronger. She hollered out and fell over onto the floor. A passing crew member, Taros, heard the noise and doubled back. He found Gwen lying on the ground next to the door. He ran over to her and dropped down beside her, “Miss Gwen! Are you alright?”

“Seelie… call… Seelie.” The pain wouldn’t subside.

Taros jumped up to put the intercom button on the wall, “Seelie to medbay! Seelie to medbay, asap!” He ran back to Gwen and picked her up, running her to Doc’s medbay.

By the time Taros reached the medbay, Seelie was already there waiting. “What happened?” She asked with urgency.

“I dunno.” Taros laid her down on the exam table. “I was walking by the door to the engine room and I found her on the ground holding her stomach.”

Gwen’s eyes shot open as she inhaled a lungful of air sharply. The pain had increased severely, and then without warning, dispersed all together. She inhaled deeply and her whole body relaxed. She took a few more breaths to calm herself before speaking, “I don’t know what happened. It felt like I had been stabbed in the stomach. But now it’s gone.” There was a panic in her voice that Seelie could tell was wrapped in concern for the growing baby.

Seelie pulled out her tablet and held it over Gwen’s stomach. Just then, Doc came rushing into the room. “What’s going on here? Who are you?”

“Not now.” Seelie snapped at Doc.

He walked over and looked at the screen on Gwen’s stomach.

Taros stood in the corner of the room, wringing his fingers together. “Um… can I go now? Cap will be pretty pissed if I don’t get my rounds done before he comes back.”

Seelie scoffed, looking at the screen, “I have a feeling the Captain’s gonna give you a week’s worth of vacation time after this. But yes, you can go, thank you.”

And with that Taros was gone.

Doc shook his head, baffled, “You’re pregnant, Gwen?”

“Yes Doc; and I don’t want to hear no sass about it. I got my own medic to help so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Well I don’t see anything wrong here. What could be causing her so much pain?”

Seelie shook her head slowly, concern washing over her face. “Tell me, Doc, how far along you think she is?”

He studied the image closely, “Hm… looks like about six weeks to me.”

“Well, that would be the problem.” Seelie retorted.

“What is?” Doc still didn’t understand.

“A week ago, she was only measuring three weeks.” Seelie and Gwen both looked at each other, stunned.


	9. Chapter 9

Gwen was resting in her room. Or rather, trying to rest. Learning there might be something wrong with the little thing growing in her belly was causing all sorts of anxiety. She laid in her bed staring out the picture window at the stars and the planet that Yondu was currently on, away from her. On one hand, she was glad she didn’t go with. If she had collapsed down there, away from Seelie or the medbay, who knows what might have happened. On the other hand, she wished Yondu was here right now. She couldn’t force herself to call him though. And she refused to let anyone else call him either. The last thing he needed to worry about while on a job was her or the baby. For all he knew, she was perfectly safe on the ship. Of course this also meant he was right… again. He was smart and he knew when to hold his ground. Something she loved about him. And this was one of those times. Thankfully, Yondu was never one to rub it in her face when she was wrong, another thing she adored about him. Gwen was not one to think logically. She was all about emotions, and right now she was a ball full. All she wanted was her husband to hold her and tell her everything would be okay.

There was a knock at the door. “Come in.” Gwen said loudly. She knew it was Seelie, and she had given her the access code to the room, in case of emergencies.

Seelie walked in, still staring at her tablet, rubbing her eyes with exhaustion. “Okay, so I think I figured out what’s going on here.” She sat down at the edge of the bed.

Gwen quickly sat up and looked to Seelie for answers, “Okay so what is it? Is the baby in trouble?”

“No, the baby is still perfectly healthy. It’s you that might be in trouble.” She was still scanning through the tablet as she spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, so… Terran pregnancies last for nine months, but it looks like Centaurian pregnancies only last six months. Centaurian babies grow faster, they’re bigger and stronger, and they require more nutrients than Terran babies. Your baby seems to be splitting the difference. He’s not growing at quite the same rate as a Centaurian, but he’s not growing as slowly as a Terran either. I’m estimating a seven and a half month pregnancy, but a bigger and stronger baby.”

“So what does that mean for me?” Gwen already knew where this was going, but she wanted to hear it from Seelie’s mouth.

“It means this pregnancy is going to be quite a burden on your body. And we’re probably going to have to deliver via cesarean.” Seelie gave Gwen an empathetic smile and shrugged her shoulders.

Gwen huffed and flopped back on her pillow.

Seelie went on, “You’ll have to rest more frequently, eat more frequently, your hormone load will be higher which will probably mean mood swing city-“

“But the pains,” Gwen interrupted, resting on her elbows “What’s with the pains?”

“That’s probably caused by the fact that the baby is growing faster than your uterus is expecting. The placenta attaching, stretching to make room… it’s like overworking a muscle you’re not used to.”

“So there’s nothing actually wrong, it’s just like growing pains?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Seelie nodded.

“Well that’s good at least. I can deal with the pain as long as I know he’s okay.” Gwen sighed with relief.

“Gwen, I’ve gotta ask, where were you going when Taros found you?” Seelie gave Gwen a stern look.

“Oh, you caught that huh?” Gwen sat all the way up and gave Seelie a guilty look. “I was headed down to the engine room. I wanted to go visit my friends.”

“If the engine room is a place you go often, you need to let me know. If something happens to you down there, I need to be able to find you.”

“Alright fine. I’m sorry.” Gwen was quiet for a moment and then grinned back at Seelie. “So, you wanna go now?”

“Now?” Seelie asked puzzled, “Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t planning on telling the boys yet, but I guess they gotta know sometime.”

“Sure, why not?” Seelie smiled.

Gwen stood up and took a few cautious steps, making sure she didn’t feel any new pains. “Okay, I think I’m good. Let’s go!”

 

The girls headed down to the engine room and Seelie made a mental note of the path they took. When they reached the break room, they found Obo, Eugene and Kraglin already in the middle of a game.

“Hey guys!” Gwen smiled at the men as she walked to the closet to grab another chair for Seelie.

“Seelie!” Kraglin stood up and Seelie jumped into his arms. They kissed heatedly before Seelie took the chair Gwen gave her and sat next to her new man.

“Gwen didn’t mention you’d be down here.” Seelie smiled at him, her face still red from the kiss.

“Who’s this now?” Eugene grinned at Kraglin.

Kraglin turned a darker shade of red and smiled proudly, “This is my… um…”

Seelie held out her hand to shake Eugene’s, “I’m Seelie! I’m Gwen’s personal medic, and Kraglin’s personal person.” She winked at the old man.

“Well then,” Eugene chuckled at the bright eyed girl “You got yourself a good man here. There’s nobody the Captain trusts more, except maybe Gwen.” He winked at Seelie playfully.

“And you are?” Seelie stood up to shake hands with Obo across the table.

“Oh, I’m Obo. Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Nice to meet you too!” Seelie smiled. She sat back down and took Kraglin’s hand, placing it on her thigh and giving him a wink.

Kraglin grinned and gave her thigh a quick squeeze.

“So,” Eugene grinned at Gwen proudly, “Heard a rumor there might be a new little crew member running around the ship in a few months. That why she’s here?” He nodded to Seelie and winked at Gwen.

“You guys know already?” Gwen asked shocked.

Obo chuckled, “Everybody knows. It’s the talk of the ship. That and the fact that you and Cap get yer freak on so much that it was just a matter of time.” He snickered at her teasingly.

Gwen scoffed and rolled her eyes, “You boys are so bad,” she chuckled.

 

Yondu and his team had Tivan’s artifact in hand and were piling back into the m-ship to take off when the comm alerted. Tullk answered the call. It was Horuz hailing from the Eclector. “Been tryin’ ta reach you guys for da past hour. Ya’ll need ta head back quick like. Sum’ins wrong wit Miss Gwenn.”

Yondu overheard Horuz’s message and jumped into the conversation, “What’s wrong?” Panic started rising up in his chest.

“Dunno. Just heard a mess’g o’er da comm for dat Seelie girl ta go ta medbay. Summon said day saws Miss Gwen collapse near da engine room.”

Without another word, Yondu locked down the ship. He started it up and bolted off the planet.

 

They reached the Eclector in record time. Yondu ran off the m-ship, down the cat walk and straight to the medbay. Neither Gwen nor Seelie were there. Just Doc, reading an article on his tablet. When he saw the Captain he stood up to address him.

“Where’s Gwen?” Yondu asked curtly.

“We sent her back to her room-” Doc didn’t get a change to finish before Yondu took off back down the corridor. Doc sprinted for the door, “But it ain’t what you think!” He tried to yell after him but he was already gone.

Yondu ran to his room but there was nobody there. A volatile mix of panic and frustration bubbled up in his chest. He slammed his hand down on the comm system on the wall, switching on the ship’s pa system. “WHERE THE HELL IS MY WIFE?!” The message echoed loudly throughout the entire ship.

Gwen and Seelie, still down in the engine room, froze in fear.  
“Oh shit.” Kraglin jumped up and ran to the comm on the wall, calling up to Yondu’s room. “They’re down here with me, sir! We’ll be right up!”

“Where are you?!” Yondu snapped back.

“Down in the engine room, sir. We weren’t expectin’ you back for a few more hours. Sorry about that sir!”

“Get Gwen up here in ten minutes or I’mma start whistlin’, and it won’t be a pretty tune!”

“Yes sir!”

Kraglin, Gwen and Seelie ran back through the engine room, across the corridor and up to the second floor. They rounded the corner to the officer’s quarters and Yondu was standing outside the room waiting for them. They all stopped short right in front of the Captain. Gwen and Kraglin stood at attention, placing their hands behind their backs. Seelie watched curiously, but then got the hint and fell in line.

Yondu grabbed Gwen and hugged her tight, breathing out a heavy sigh of relief.

“Babe… you’re squishing me!” Gwen squeaked out.

Yondu pulled her back at arm’s length and looked her up and down. “Are you alright?! What happened?”

“I’m fine.” Gwen looked at him curiously.

“Horuz called down to us on the surface. Said you collapsed and had to go to medbay. What the hell is goin’ on?”

“Ugh,” Gwen rolled her eyes, irritated at Horuz. She made a mental note to brain him later. “Let’s go inside, we’ll explain everything.”

Yondu headed in but turned back to his first mate, “Kraglin, go take the helm, I’ll be up in a bit.”

“Yes sir.” Kraglin turned on his heels and was off.

“What the hell you doin’ down in the engine room? Why ain’t you restin’ or up in medbay?” Yondu was still trying to calm down from the start he got down on Jesebet and was having a hard time reconciling the fact that Gwen looked to be perfectly fine now.

“Okay,” Gwen started, holding her hands up to try and keep Yondu calm, “Don’t freak out, but I did kinda sorta collapse.”

Yondu pointed to the bed behind her, “Get yer ass on that bed!”

“He’s freaking out,” Seelie sung to herself, looking wide eyed at Gwen.

“But I’m fine now!” Gwen was still arguing verbally, but her feet subconsciously pulled her backwards until she sat down on the bed.

“How can you be not fine one second and fine the next?” He looked over at Seelie and pointed to the little green haired girl, “You better start talkin, missy.”

Seelie nervously blurted out the new information, “The baby’s growing faster than we expected!”

“What?!” He looked back at Gwen, baffled.

“She’s right.” Gwen gave him a nervous expression.

“We were assuming with her being Terran, the gestational period would be that of a Terran. But the baby is growing at a faster rate.”

“How much faster?” Yondu’s head was starting to spin. He put his hands on his temples, trying to massage the ache away.

“Well, Centaurian gestational period is six months. We’ve figured the baby is growing about twenty-five percent faster than a Terran.” Seelie fiddled with her fingers nervously as she talked.

“What does that mean in the long run?”

“Nothing!” Gwen stood up to walk over to Yondu.

“Sit your ass back down.” Yondu snapped again. He hadn’t meant to be so hard on her. He was nervous and didn’t quite know how to handle the new information. He’d have to remember to apologize later.

Gwen continued, but still sat back down, “It means nothing. Just that we’ll have a shiprat runnin’ around a little bit sooner than expected. That’s all.” Gwen looked over at Seelie’s confused expression and gave her a look that told her to keep her mouth shut. She wasn’t ready to explain that this little Centerran was going to do a number on her physically. Let him deal with one worry at a time.

“If it’s nothing to worry about then why did you collapse?” Yondu wasn’t convinced that there wasn’t more to this.

“It was just another pain. Kinda like back on Xandar. I think collapse is too strong a word, more like doubled over. And it went away pretty quickly!” She nodded, “Right Seelie?” She gave her a knowing look.

“Oh… yeah. Right.” She looked back at Gwen with an expression that said ‘we are so screwed and you know it’.

Yondu raised an eyebrow at Gwen, “Seelie, you can leave now. Thank you.”

“Uh, yes sir.” She quickly headed for the door and left.

Yondu walked over to his wife, grabbing her hands and pulling her up off the bed. “I just wanna make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m okay. I promise.” It wasn’t a lie. She was okay, for now. Whether she would be in a few weeks, or months, still remained to be seen. But the last thing she wanted was for Yondu to fuss over her any more than he already was.


	10. Chapter 10

The Eclector arrived at Knowhere to drop off the artifact for Tivan. Gwen begged Yondu to let her come with. She wanted to see how Buddy the dog was doing and possibly work more on convincing him to give up his live collection.

“No.” Yondu’s answer was quick. He went back to invoicing cargo on his tablet, sitting at his desk.

“Please! Please let me get off this damn ship!” Gwen begged.

“And what happens if you have another incident?” he glared at her sternly.

“I haven’t had one in a week! And hey, if I do, you’ll be there! No running back to the ship in a panic.”

“I didn’t panic. I was _concerned_.”

Gwen rolled her eyes, “Whatever! Either way, I’ll have you there with me.” Gwen dropped to her knees beside Yondu’s desk chair. “Please, baby.” Her voice was as smooth as honey. She turned his chair to face her, “I’ve already been there before, I know Tivan isn’t dangerous.” She pulled his knees apart and crawled in between his legs. “I’ll be on my best behavior, I promise.” She unbuttoned his pants and gave him a pouty smile.

Yondu was already growing in her hands. His breathing quickened as he lost grip on his resolve. He sunk back in the chair and watched his wife work her magic on him. “Oh you are such a wicked minx.” He moaned as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

Gwen brought him right to the edge of climax and then asked again, “So does this mean I can go?” She grinned mischievously.

Yondu nodded his head enthusiastically, “Yes, yes! You can go! You can go!”

Gwen gave him another grin. Yondu gripped the arms of the chair and growled loudly as Gwen finished him off. She stood up and smiled proudly, wiping the side of her mouth. She leaned forward and gave her breathless husband a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you”, she chirped before strolling off to the bathroom.

“Why’d I haveta go and marry such a wily temptress?” Yondu grumbled to himself, trying to catch his breath.

“What’s that, dear?” Gwen chimed from the bathroom.

“Temptress!” Yondu buttoned his pants back up and tucked his shirt back in, “You’re a sneaky, devious temptress!”

Gwen walked back over to Yondu, climbing up in the chair and straddling his hips. She kissed him sweetly on the lips, “And you wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Yondu grinned back, grabbing Gwen’s ass and pulling her close, “You ain’t wrong.”

 

The group headed down into Knowhere on Yondu’s m-ship; Yondu, Gwen, Tullk and Kraglin, and Seelie tagged along at Yondu’s behest. Tivan was surprised at the sizeable entourage Yondu had brought with him for one small artifact, but he loved an audience none the less. “Welcome Captain Udonta!” He smiled coyly at the Terran Yondu brought with him, once again. “And Mrs. Udonta, it’s lovely to see you again, my dear.” He came around the counter to kiss Gwen’s hand. “Still running around with these miscreants, I see?”

Gwen sighed and gave Tivan a weak smile, “Hello Tivan. How’s that puppy of yours?”

“Oh he’s fine, he’s running around here somewhere.” Tivan looked around the floor of the shop. “He likes to sleep under my desk.” He looked back at Gwen, raising an eyebrow suspiciously, “Why Mrs. Udonta, if I didn’t know any better I’d say there was something… different… about you.”

“Um…” She looked down at herself curiously “I cut my hair?”

“Sure… That’s probably it.” It wasn’t it. He knew it. Tivan prided himself on his eye for detail, and knowing what she did about the creatures of the galaxy, Gwen assumed he probably had a sixth sense about things. But she wasn’t about to voluntarily divulge anything she didn’t have to. Tivan eventually pulled his gaze away from Gwen and back to Yondu. “So Captain, where is my artifact?”

Yondu pulled a velvet pouch out of his pocket and tossed it to Tivan, “Here.”

Tivan’s eyes widened as he reached to catch it out of the air, “Careful! Please be careful! This artifact is possibly older than the head we’re standing on!” He sat down at his desk, turned on the light and opened the pouch up, examining the swirling gold figure in his hands, turning it this way and that. He grinned excitedly, “Beautiful. Just beautiful. Look at that intricate detail.”

As Tivan marveled at the hunk of metal he had just acquired, Gwen felt another stab to the stomach. She grabbed Tullk’s arm, the closest person she could reach, and gripped it tight. Tullk looked down at Gwen and tried to get Seelie’s attention without raising Tivan’s suspicion. He waved at her from behind Yondu’s back. She looked over at Tullk whose eyes were darting back and forth from Seelie to Gwen. Seelie took Gwen’s other hand and they did their best to hold her up, waiting for the wave of pain to pass. It was no use. Gwen began to sweat and shake. The pain grew so intense that she cried out as she doubled over onto the floor. Both Tullk and Seelie followed her to the floor. Yondu looked back to see what had happened. Seelie looked to Yondu with a nervous, pleading expression as she held tight to Gwen’s hand.

“Gwen!” Yondu fell to the floor, pushing Tullk away. Gwen was curled up in a ball with her eyes shut tight. He brushed her hair out of her face and spoke calmly to her, “It’s okay baby girl. I’m right here.”

“Just breath through it Gwen. It’ll be over soon. Try to relax.” Seelie added.

Tivan jumped up from his desk slightly concerned, but mostly intrigued, “What’s this? Does she need a medic?”

“I am a medic.” Seelie looked up at Tivan sternly. “We have it under control.”

“Why does Miss Gwen have a personal medic following her around?” Tivan was slowly putting the puzzle pieces together in his head.

“None of your damn business, Tivan.” Yondu snapped at him sharply. He went back to stroking Gwen’s hair and talking to her.

Gwen’s eyes popped open wide and she breathed in an audible gasp of air. And just as quick as the pain came, it was gone again. She laid on her back on the shop floor for a few moments, catching her breath. Buddy popped up out of a dark corner and ran up to Gwen, kissing her face energetically. Gwen tucked her head in and smiled at Buddy. She grabbed his head and fluffed his ears playfully, “Hey Buddy! You’re a good boy!”

“Let’s get you off the floor, baby girl.” Yondu helped lift Gwen up and dusted off her back. “You okay? Can you walk?”

“I’m fine, Yondu, thanks.” She dusted off her pants and fixed her hair and took another breath, still hanging onto Seelie.

“My, my, my…” Tivan smirked at the sight. “Well I’ve seen just about everything in my lifetime, now.”

Yondu glared at Tivan, “No you haven’t, cause there ain’t nuthin’ to see. Give us our money and we’ll be gone.”

“So you mean to tell me she’s _not_ carrying a half Centaurian, half Terran baby in that belly of hers?” Tivan grinned devilishly.

“Don’t even go there, Tivan. Just give us our money.” Yondu knew exactly where Tivan was headed. And the fact that he would even entertain the notion disgusted Yondu to no end. Gwen was right. This man had no respect for life. And he obviously knew nothing about Yondu if he thought for even one second that he would be willing to hand over his only biological child to a sadistic, narcissistic man like Taneleer Tivan.

“Are you sure?” Tivan held up a clear unit card and waved it in the air. “I have one million units here with your name on it. But I’d be willing to pay ten times that for the creature she’s carrying. Half now, half when it’s born.”

Gwen’s eyes burned with fire. She wanted nothing more than to blast Tivan’s head off of his shoulders. But Yondu quickly stepped in. He ripped the unit card out of Tivan’s hand and waved it in his face furiously. “That’s your problem Tivan. You surround yourself with priceless antiques, artifacts, and live beings… but you don’t have one fucking clue as to what it’s all really worth.” He stared down Tivan for a long moment before chucking the unit card across the room, smashing it against the wall and shattering it to pieces. Yondu got right in Tivan’s face, his red eyes glowed hotly and his fin lit up bright. He spoke slowly and calmly, letting the threat in his tone speak for him, “Don’t _ever_ call us for a job again.” He turned on his heels and took Gwen’s hand, leading her and the rest of his crew out the door.

“Captain, you do realize you just alienated one of our most lucrative clients, right?” Tullk asked as they quickly walked back to the m-ship.

“Don’t care. That man crossed a line wern’t meant to be crossed. To hell if I’m gonna work with the likes of him again.”

They climbed aboard the m-ship and headed back to the Eclector.

“So what now?” Kraglin asked the Captain, nervously.

“Now we get those supplies for Burke.”


	11. Chapter 11

“I am so sorry, Yondu. This is all my fault.” Gwen felt a crushing guilt in her chest as she laid in bed in her husband’s arms. If she hadn’t pushed Yondu to let her go with, if she hadn’t have had an ‘incident’ there at the shop, none of this would have happened. Tivan would have never found out about the child, and they would have been one million units richer. Not that Yondu needed the money, but they did a job they didn’t get paid for. And Yondu wasn’t in the business of pro-bono work.

“No it ain’t.” Yondu sighed. “If Tivan had been even the slightest bit decent, he’d of never asked. And I’m the one that refused the money. You were right. That man is a piece of shit.”

Gwen kissed Yondu’s chest, “Well, I’ve got to admit, I was impressed at how you handled him.”

A teasing smile crossed Yondu’s lips, “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“Not only did you tell him no, you told him _fuck_ no.” she chuckled. “It was kinda sexy seein’ your protective ‘Daddy Yondu’ side come out.” She kissed him again tenderly.

Yondu snickered, “Daddy Yondu,” he sighed, “I’m still tryin’ to wrap my brain around all this. You know I never-“ He didn’t get to finish whatever it was he was going to say, because Gwen quickly climbed over him and jumped out of bed, running for the bathroom. “Gwen?!” He sat upright in bed and was about to run after her when he heard a horrid noise come out of her. He looked through the door and found her knelt down in front of the toilet, “Good gods in the heavens! I’m callin’ Seelie!”

Yondu was about to run to the comm when Gwen waved after him, her head still hovering over the bowl. “No. Don’t. This part is normal.”

Yondu’s eyes bugged out of his head, “What do you mean _normal_? How could that be normal?!”

“It’s called morning sickness.” She was starting to feel better but was hesitant to leave the bathroom floor quite yet.

“It ain’t morning?” Yondu still wasn’t getting how this whole thing worked.

“It’s just what they call it. It can hit at any time. A lot of Terran’s get it. Especially in the beginning.” Gwen sat back, catching her breath. Her clammy skin cooling against the metal wall.

“You mean you’re gonna be losin’ your lunch a lot more?” He walked over and flushed the toilet. He grabbed a washcloth and soaked it in the sink, wringing it out before folding it and sitting down next to her. He tilted her head back and placed the cold, wet washcloth on her forehead.

“Probably.” Gwen gave him a thankful smile, “I remember my sister had it so bad, she kept a package of crackers and ginger ale on her nightstand.”

“So food helps?” Yondu asked curiously.

“Yeah kinda. Some foods.” Gwen held the washcloth to her forehead and sat with her eyes closed.

Yondu kissed her head and got up. He threw on a pair of pants and a shirt and poked his head back into the bathroom. “Imma go get you something to snack on and some water. Don’t go nowhere.”

Gwen saluted Yondu playfully, “Yes sir Captain Tightpants.”


	12. Chapter 12

Gwen discovered that of all the food they had on the ship, the one thing she craved the most were the protein bars. They helped settle her stomach and her cravings all in one shot. She never went anywhere without them and just about any time anyone saw her, she was chewing away on one. Yondu decided he was going to have to increase their supply on their next run to Xandar.

Seelie kept up with monitoring the baby, which was now starting to look more like a baby every day. At eight weeks, she was measuring at just about eleven weeks. The baby was still translucent, so they couldn’t tell what color his skin would be, and they still couldn’t tell if he was really a he yet or not. One thing they could clearly tell was that there was no fin.

Yondu wasn’t sure what to make of that. On one hand he was glad he wouldn’t have to deal with it, he’d never have to worry about anyone taking it from them, and he wouldn’t have to explain why they had one and his daddy didn’t. But on the other hand, he felt like his child was being cheated out of their birthright. The Centaurian crest was something to be proud of, a symbol of honor. Though what did his family know of honor? They sold their son off to the Kree. Nothing honorable about that. In the end, Yondu decided that he didn’t care either way. He would teach his child to be proud, no matter what. He would teach him or her the true meaning of honor. He didn’t need a fancy fin to do that.

Gwen noticed that her pains came about once a week. She guessed it was growth spurts; her body trying to keep up with the growing little shiprat inside her. What she failed to mention to Yondu, but was becoming more and more obvious, was that the pain was getting worse. Not only that, but she was eating more and more frequently to keep up with his needs, and sleeping more too. Gwen spent most of her time in bed, getting up only to raid the kitchen of its dwindling supply of protein bars and hang out with Seelie in her room when she wasn’t keeping Kraglin company. The girls were becoming fast friends and she was enjoying having another female on the ship. Someone she could confide in and giggle with.

After a particularly busy day, Yondu went back to the room to check on Gwen. The room was dark, with all the lights off, and Gwen was sound asleep. It broke his heart to see her this way. They couldn’t be as intimate as they once were. They rarely had sex. Partly because she was so weak, and partly because he didn’t want to hurt her any more than she already seemed to be hurting. She was only three months into a seven month pregnancy that was taking a heavy toll on her body. She tried to hide it at first, but she eventually gave up the façade and accepted the fact that she could no longer go on jobs with him. She couldn’t run around the ship like she used to. She quit visiting her friends in the engine room and he rarely consulted with her. Yondu sat down on the bed next to her and brushed her hair from her face.

Gwen rustled and turned to Yondu with a small smile, “Hey stranger.” She reached her hand up to his face. He turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand. Gwen sat up and kissed Yondu’s soft lips. “Make love to me, my husband.” She whispered to him, stroking his scarred cheek. Even now, as weak and tired as she was, her hormones still often controlled her.

Yondu shook his head, a pained gaze on his face, “No, I can’t. Look at you.”

“I miss you.” She whimpered, “Soon I won’t be able to even lift my head out of this bed. Please,” she kissed him again, “Give this to me now, before I can’t have it at all.”

Yondu looked down at the bed and sighed. He lifted his head back up and kissed her eagerly, pulling off his jacket and then his vest. Gwen unbuttoned his dress shirt and slipped it off of his shoulders. Yondu grabbed Gwen by the waist and slid her back down on the bed, sliding her night shorts and panties off. He took off his pants and crawled into bed on top of her. “Are you _sure_ you want to do this?”

She kissed him again, nodding without a hint of hesitation. Yondu hungrily reached between her legs and slid himself inside her. She let out a weak moan. If this little bit of normalcy was what she wanted, he was going to give it to her.

Gwen quickly fell back to sleep after their love making. Yondu kissed her head and slid his arm out from underneath her. He dressed and stared at Gwen with an aching heart for a long moment before leaving the room.


	13. Chapter 13

“Gwen.” Seelie nudged Gwen gently, trying to wake her. “Gotta wake up, sweetie. I need to examine you.” Gwen grumbled under the covers and turned over onto her back. Seelie moved the blanket and set the tablet on her stomach. The light from the monitor lit up the dark room. Seelie took a few measurements and checked the baby’s heartbeat. “Looks like you’re measuring right at sixteen weeks. You know what that means.”

“I do?” Gwen mumbled, leaning forward to look at the screen.

“It means we get to find out if it’s a boy or a girl.” Seelie smiled.

“We do?” Gwen tried to sit up more, but Seelie stopped her.

“Hold still, now. I can’t see if you keep moving.” She chuckled.

“But I wanna see.” Gwen whined.

“Don’t worry I’ll take some pictures for you.” Seelie moved the image on the screen, zooming in and out, trying to get a clear image. “Okay, you ready?”

“Of course!” Gwen assured, trying to sit up again.

“Here you go. You have a very blue little boy in your belly.” Seelie smiled as she turned the tablet around for Gwen to see.   
Gwen gasped, taking the tablet from Seelie. She stared at her not-so-tiny son. His arms and legs were still skin and bones, his head was almost as big as the rest of his body, and his skin was as starting to turn a light blue like his father’s. There was still no fin, but Gwen didn’t care one bit. She was in love. “Look at that!” Gwen marveled at the picture in her hands. “That’s my baby!” The tears started streaming down her cheeks. She looked down and held her hand over her stomach, “Hey little guy!” She sniffled, wiping her eyes, “Damn hormones.”

“So when are you gonna tell Yondu?” Seelie asked, giggling.

“Oh! Where is he?” Gwen started to stand up but a rush of dizziness overtook her and she fell back onto the bed.

“Whoa, easy now.” Seelie held her shoulders and helped her back into bed. “I think he and Kraglin are in a meeting with the other officers. I’ll see if I can find him and send him in for you.” Seelie packed her tablet back up and pulled the covers back over Gwen.

Gwen yawned and turned over onto her side, “Okay.”

 

Seelie headed up to the ship deck to find Yondu. She normally wasn’t allowed on the deck, but decided this was special circumstances. There was no one at the helm, which meant all the officers were in a meeting. She debated knocking on the office door or waiting. She decided to wait. She looked around the room at the men working their stations. They didn’t pay much attention to her. They knew she was Kraglin’s girl and they knew he was almost as dangerous as the Captain. One man gave her a curious look, and then turned back around with a grumble. Seelie eyed the Captain’s chair nosily. She swiped her fingertips over the armrest. There was no other place to sit and wait so she decided to plop down in the chair and wait. Some of the men turned around and eyed her warily, looking back and forth at each other. But nobody said a word. Seelie wound up waiting so long for the captain that she fell asleep in his chair.

Eventually the meeting ended and Yondu and his men exited the office. Horuz noticed the young girl sitting in the Captain’s chair and nudged him with his elbow. He pointed to Seelie with a slight grin on his face.

Kraglin’s eyes grew wide and he swallowed hard, “Oh shit. I’m so sorry-”

Yondu put his finger to his mouth to shush Kraglin and gave him a sly smirk and a wink. He walked over and stood in front of the chair. He leaned down, placing his hands on his knees and got right in the sleeping girl’s face. “What’er you doin’ in my chair!” He barked loudly.

Seelie screamed and jumped about a foot into the air. The deck crew and all of the officers, save Kraglin, broke out into laughter. Seelie stood up with her hands behind her back, her heart racing and breathing hard. “I’m so sorry sir! I was waiting for you and fell asleep!”

Yondu chuckled at Seelie, “It’s alright, girl. What’d you need me for?”

“It’s Gwen, sir.”

Yondu tensed, fearing the worst. “What’s wrong? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine sir. She just wants to see you.”

Yondu relaxed a bit, but was still curious why she sent Seelie instead of waiting. “What’s this about?”

“Um…” A smile crept up on Seelie’s face, “I’m not allowed to tell you sir. She wants to tell you herself.”

Yondu grinned back, “Alright. You can go now.” He pointed at her nose with a frown, “But don’t ever let me catch you in my chair again.”

“Yes sir!” Seelie took off down the hall with Kraglin following close behind.

Yondu chuckled and looked back at his men, “Tullk you have the helm.”

 

Yondu walked into the bedroom and threw his coat and vest on the chair. He stripped off his shirt and pants and tossed them in a pile in the bathroom. He climbed into bed next to Gwen and wrapped her in his arms. “Hey baby girl.” He kissed her forehead. “Seelie says you got somethin’ to tell me?”

Gwen snuggled up into Yondu, taking his hand and placing it on her stomach. She made sure to smooth his large, blue fingers over the bump in her belly.

“Whoa,” You grinned, “that him?”

“Yup, that’s your _son_.” She looked up at him and smiled, waiting to see if he noticed her use of the noun.

Yondu grinned, “Yeah, that’s my s-. Wait… you said son?” He finally caught on and his eyes lit up like bright red stars. “It’s a boy? It’s really a boy??”

Gwen giggled, “It’s _really_ a boy.”

Yondu smiled widely at Gwen’s stomach, rubbing the bump gently, “Wow… that’s my son.” He marveled at the little being growing inside his wife. He kissed her lovingly and pulled her close. She quickly fell back to sleep. Yondu tried to sleep but he couldn’t. He imagined what it would be like having a child on the ship. And not just an eight year old boy, but an infant. Something that couldn’t even walk or talk or feed itself. He would be responsible for keeping this tiny creature alive. He still wasn’t sure if keeping Gwen, and eventually the baby, on the ship was the right call to make, but it was her decision and he wasn’t going to go against her wishes. He just wished she could understand how dangerous it really was.


	14. Chapter 14

Gwen awoke, still in darkness, to an empty room. Her thirst and hunger were overtaking her once again. In a stupor, she climbed out of bed and walked to the bedroom door. She stumbled out into the hallway and tried to make her way to the kitchen. The lights in the corridor were blindingly bright and she had to hang onto the wall to keep from falling over. She didn’t make it to the main hallway before Tullk found her.

“Miss Gwen?” He asked with concern, “Are you okay?”

Gwen tried to center her attention on Tullk’s face but her eyes wouldn’t focus. His voice sounded muffled and far away. “H-hungry,” was all she could manage to say. She held her hand out to him to try to steady herself.

Tullk took Gwen’s hand nervously, looking around for someone to help him. “Why don’t we get you to medbay?”

“N-no… f-food.” She could feel the room start to spin and she fell into Tullk’s arms before blacking out.

Tullk picked Gwen up and rushed her to the medbay. As soon as he arrived, he placed Gwen on a bed and yelled for the medic. “Doc!”

Doc came running out from his office and went to Gwen’s side, checking her eyes and pulse. “Call Seelie in here, quick.”

Tullk hurried to the wall, hitting the intercom button, “Seelie to medbay. Seelie to medbay, asap.” He tried to make his voice as calm as possible, but he knew the Captain would hear the message and come running anyway.

Doc pointed to a cabinet on the opposite wall, “Open that up, grab me one of the bags of clear liquid.” He quickly applied a tourniquet to Gwen’s arm and searched for a vein. He inserted and stabilized the IV and then hooked up the fluids Tullk had tossed him.

Seelie ran into the room and saw Gwen unconscious on the bed, “What happened?” She asked as she rushed to examine her as Doc had just done.

“I found her wondering the hallways and she collapsed in my arms.” Tullk stood by, watching the hectic scene.

“We need to get her a feeding tube.” Doc gave Seelie a worried look. Seelie nodded in agreement.

“A feeding tube?” Yondu’s nervous voice came from the doorway. He was staring at his unconscious wife with grave concern.

Tullk walked over to the Captain and stopped him from entering the room. “Come on, Captain. Let’s go get us a drink while we let them work.”

“I can’t just leave her here.” Yondu gave Tullk an insulted look.

Tullk stared down the Captain sternly, “There’s nothing we can do right now. Best to just stay out of their way.”

Seelie nodded to Yondu, “Don’t worry Yon… Captain. We’ll call you back when we’re done.”

Yondu hesitated, but then shook off Tullk’s hands and walked back out into the hallway.

 

The two men sat on the couch in Yondu’s room, drinking beers, waiting for word from Doc or Seelie.

“So you two thought about names yet?” Tullk asked, trying to fill the silence.

“No.” Was Yondu’s only reply before taking another drink.

Tullk nodded absentmindedly, “My niece just had a baby. They named her Jessah. Kinda cute, I guess.”

Yondu raised an eyebrow at Tullk, “Didn’t know you had a niece.”

“Yup,” he took another pull from the bottle, “Just got married two… three years ago I think.” He looked over at Yondu cautiously, who was staring intently at the bookshelf. Tullk looked back down at his bottle, “Sometimes I look at her and wonder why I never settled down; raised some babies of my own.”

Yondu scoffed and shook his head, still staring at the bookshelf, “You mean besides worryin’ about keepin’ ‘em alive? ‘Bout makin’ sure they grow up right? Worryin’ about how bad you’re gonna screw ‘em up?”

Tullk let out a heavy sigh and stared out the picture window at the stars floating by, “Yeah, guess you’re right.”

Seelie walked through the door and gave Yondu a small smile, “You can come see her now.”

Yondu stood up, “Is she awake?” His voice was a mix of frustration and nervousness.

Seelie shook her head solemnly, “No, not yet. But I’m sure she’d want you to be there when she does.”

Yondu tipped back his beer and downed the rest of it before following Seelie to the medbay.

 

Yondu sat by Gwen’s bed, waiting for her eyes to open. He was both worried about her and furious with her, all at the same time. He had grabbed her phone before leaving the room, flipping through all of her pictures. Some of her on the Milano with Peter and Gamora, some on the ship, and then some taken back on Terra when they visited for Robbie’s birthday. He thought long and hard about how he would broach the subject, again, of her going back. He had no idea how to take care of her. He had no clue about Terrans or babies. He chuckled as he now understood Gwen’s mother’s incessant need to keep her daughter safe. That’s all he wanted. To keep her and the baby safe. His happiness be damned.

He looked through the pictures again and his heart warmed and his anger faded at every picture of Gwen smiling brightly when she was the happiest… mainly any picture with him in it. He couldn’t bring himself to sacrifice Gwen’s happiness, and he couldn’t imagine his child growing up without a father, like he had. That was not a hell he wanted to put either of them through. The pull between wanting her to be safe, and wanting her to be happy, was ripping his heart in two.

He closed the picture app and pulled up her music. He clicked on a button labeled ‘Most played songs’. At the very top was the song they danced to at the comic convention on Terra. He plugged her headphones into his ears and this time, he listened to the words more closely.

_I’m so in love with you_

_And I hope you know_

_Darling, your love is more than_

_Worth its weight in gold_

_We’ve come so far, my dear_

_Look how we’ve grown_

_And I wanna stay with you_

_Until we’re grey and old_

_Just say you won’t let go_

_Just say you won’t let go_

It was in that moment that Yondu realized how stupid he had been. It wasn’t about keeping her safe. It was about being there for her, when she was going through probably the hardest time of her life. How could he abandon her now? It was through all this that she needed him the most. Whether they lived or died, it was how he handled it all that would make a world of difference to her. Yondu decided then and there that he would never bring up sending her away again. No matter the outcome.


	15. Chapter 15

Gwen finally opened her eyes. Disoriented, she looked around the room, and then down at herself. She had an IV in her arm and a tube running from her nose down her throat. She gagged and coughed, reflexively trying to dislodge it. Her hands immediately went for her face to remove the tube.

“Hey, hey, stop that.” Yondu jumped up and held her hands down. “Doc! She’s awake.” He yelled down to the medbay office.

Both Doc and Seelie came out to help.

“She doesn’t need that anymore,” Doc said, removing the tape from her face that was holding the feeding tube in place.

“Relax, Gwen. We’re gonna take it out, just hang on.” Seelie tried to comfort Gwen, who was obviously distressed.

Gwen tried to calm, but the tube was making her gag, which was causing her to lurch forward. Doc finally pulled the tube out of her throat with a swift tug. Gwen gagged and coughed one more time before speaking with a hoarse voice, “Water”. Seelie sprinted to the sink and filled a cup with water. She handed it to Gwen who downed it quickly, handing the cup back, “More please.” She said, her voice still graveled. Seelie got her another cupful which Gwen quickly finished a second time. Gwen caught her breath and looked around the room, still confused.

Yondu gave Gwen a nervous look, “You okay kiddo?” he asked cautiously.

“What happened?” She said in a whisper.

“Tullk found you roaming the halls asking for food, and then you passed out.” Doc said as he checked her eyes and pulse once again.

“When?” She blinked away from the light, rubbing her sore throat.

“That was almost a week ago.” Yondu said, still rattled from Gwen’s awakening.

Gwen’s eyes widened, “A week?” She croaked and then cleared her throat.

Seelie gave Gwen a guiltful expression, “It seems you hadn’t been eating nearly enough. Being pregnant, your body already requires additional nutrition. But the fact that your baby is growing so fast, he’s been taking way more than a normal Terran baby would.”

“But what about all those protein bars?”

Doc jumped into the conversation now, “Too much protein, not enough of everything else. You’re gonna need a hell of a lot of bread and grains to keep up.”

Gwen looked at him bewildered, “What am I supposed to do? Eat all day long?”

Seelie held up a bag with a light brown liquid in it, “Doc made this for you. It’s got pretty much everything you’ll need. You’ve been going through about a gallon a day.” She detached the tube from the bag and squeezed some out into the cup she had been drinking from. “Go ahead and try it. It doesn’t taste too bad.”

Gwen sneered at the cup and then sniffed it cautiously. It smelled sweet and slightly nutty. She took a guarded sip and looked thoughtfully at the cup. “Hmm…” She took another, larger sip and swished it around in her mouth, “This is awesome. It tastes like… banana nut bread.” She took another drink and downed the rest. “I think I could handle that.” She set the cup down and smiled at the senior medic, “Thanks Doc.”

The skinny, grey haired man smiled and patted Gwen on the hand, “Well I can’t take all the credit. Seelie did a lot of the research. She’s been quite helpful around here.”

After a while of Gwen resting and Yondu catching her up on what she missed, Doc removed all of her tubes and wires. “Now as long as you want to avoid another trip in here, you’re gonna have to drink at least a gallon of that stuff a day. I’ll bring you more as we make it. You’re still welcome to eat as much real food as you want, but that formula has to be your main source of nutrition.” He scolded her lightheartedly.

“Got it.” Gwen nodded dutifully.

Doc nodded back and put the large bag in her arms. “You’re free to go now. But you might want to rest for a bit longer before you try to go roaming around again.”

Gwen put her hand on Doc’s arm and smiled, “Thanks again for everything.”

Still in her pajamas, Yondu wrapped a blanket around Gwen and scooped her up into his arms. “I’ll take it from here, Doc.” He smiled at Gwen and walked out of the medbay with her.

 

Yondu carried Gwen to their room, with her snuggled into his chest the entire way. “Don’t you scare me like that again, girlie.”

“I’m sorry.” She sighed, “I didn’t realize it was that bad.” She absentmindedly played with one of the buckles on his vest.

“Well, we’ll keep you right from now on. Just make sure you don’t go slackin’ on that stuff.” Yondu walked into the bedroom and stopped inside the door. “You think you can walk?” He wanted to see just how weak she had gotten. He gently set her down and waited for her to steady herself.

“I think so.” She held onto Yondu and slowly walked to the bed. “Yeah, I think I got this.” She let go and crawled into bed.

“Well, I’m gonna keep a better eye on you from now on. And I’m gonna make sure Seelie takes you on walks around the ship, too. This spendin’ all day in bed bullshit is makin’ you too weak. Ya ain’t never gonna be able to chase a shiprat around with them skinny legs.”

Gwen chuckled, “I think he’ll do just fine keeping me on my toes once he’s here, but I understand.” She sat up in bed with the covers up around her waist. She looked around the room, thoughtfully.

“What’s wrong?”

Gwen shrugged, “Nothing. I’m not tired.” She looked at Yondu and gave him her infamous come hither grin, a slave to her emotions once more.

Yondu smirked and shook his finger at her, “Oh no you don’t. I just carried you outta medbay. You ain’t in no shape to be doing any ‘extra curriculars’.”

Gwen gave him a pouty face and crawled over to him. She knelt on the bed in front of him, playing with his jacket, “Please, baby! I feel good and I’m tired of just lying in bed all day.” She ran her fingers over his lips and played with his beard, giving him a coy smile, “And I wouldn’t object if you did all the work.” Yondu stood like a statue staring her down with a stern scowl, but she knew he was thinking about it because he hadn’t objected yet. She grinned naughtily and licked his lips, sliding her hand down into his pants.

Yondu finally broke. He kissed her hotly and wrapped his arms around her, grabbing a handful of her ass. “You are a damn temptress, you know that?” He breathed in between kisses.

“You can punish me later,” Gwen grinned playfully and pulled her husband down onto the bed.


	16. Chapter 16

“What about Jax?” Seelie asked as the girls rounded the corner to the rec room.

“Sounds too much like Drax.” Gwen chuckled at Seelie as she waddled into the room. She was now five months along, but looking more like eight… and she still had 2 more to go. She often wondered how he had so much room to kick her so frequently. She could no longer wear her regular clothes, so Seelie had picked her up some light and loose fitting dresses and gowns to wear instead. The crewmen were still often surprised seeing the heavily pregnant Captain’s wife roaming around the ship, but they loved the crazy little woman and took it in stride.

“Um… Kordan?” Seelie countered.

Gwen sneered, “Sounds like a Kree name.” She tipped back her tall cup and took a drink of Doc’s concoction, making a scrunched face as she swallowed.

Seelie huffed, “You guys are gonna have to come up with something soon. He’ll get a complex if everyone keeps calling him shiprat for the rest of his life.”

“Well I can’t exactly call him a rugrat. There are no rugs on the ship.” Gwen snarked.

Seelie rolled her eyes, “You know what I mean.”

Gwen giggled, “I know. We’ll figure something out eventually.” Gwen tossed back the rest of her drink and shook her head, staring down into the cup. “I’m getting so sick of this stuff. I wish we could change up the flavor.” She gingerly leaned back and plopped her watermelon bellied self into the couch.

“Sorry, you’re gonna have to deal with it a little bit longer.” Seelie retorted, taking the cup from Gwen. “I’ll get you a refill.”

 

Gwen had been reading an ebook on her tablet when Seelie returned, shoving the full cup at her forcefully, “Here.” Seelie huffed.

“Um… thanks?” Gwen looked up at Seelie and found her eyeballing someone. She turned to see who she had been giving the stink-eye to and found Kraglin talking with his buddies across the room. Kraglin glanced over at Seelie and gave her a snarled glare back. “Uh oh,” Gwen grumbled, “What’s this all about?”

Seelie plopped down on the couch and folded her arms and legs, visibly irritated. “Kraglin and I are done.” She spat angrily.

“What?” Gwen’s eyes went wide. “You two were all googly eyed for each other last week. What changed?” She glanced back over at Kraglin again and took a drink of her shake.

“You didn’t see that skank that was hanging all over him at our last stop. She acted like she owned him. I’m surprised she didn’t try to _pee_ on him.” Seelie snorted, looking back to glare at Kraglin again.

“Was he hanging on her?” Gwen countered.

“Yes!” Seelie snarled.

“What?!” Gwen didn’t believe it for a second. “ _Kraglin_?” She raised her eyebrow at Seelie.

“Maybe,” Seelie’s resolve was waning “I dunno. I was paying too much attention to the skank.” She mumbled.

“Well what did Kraglin say about all of it?” Gwen was determined to get to the bottom of this.

“He swore he ‘ _wasn’t doing nothing’_.” She said, mockingly. 

“No, no, no.” Gwen sighed, leaning forward as best she could to put her cup down on the table. “Don’t get caught up in all this nonsense. These guys have girls on damn near every planet in this galaxy. It’s gonna take a while for them to cut ties with all of them. You can’t let them get to you.”

“Well didn’t it bother _you_?” Seelie said defensively.

“Oh yeah, sure it did. But we talked about it. And I trusted Yondu to take care of it. If I hadn’t, our relationship would have ended just a few months in.” Gwen gave Seelie a knowing smirk and playfully punched her shoulder, “Don’t let the skanks win, Seelie.”

Seelie rolled her eyes and huffed at Gwen, “Alright fine. I’ll talk to him.”

Gwen smiled and waited for Seelie to get up and walk over to Kraglin.

“What? Right now?” Seelie flustered.

“Yes! Go! Right now. Get it over with.” Gwen pushed Seelie off the couch.

Seelie walked over to talk to Kraglin. Gwen saw Kraglin nod and they both walked off together to, she assumed, speak privately. Gwen grinned and heaved herself off of the couch, taking her drink and tablet with her down the corridor to head back to her room.

 

Yondu found Gwen in the hallway as he was walking by, “Hey, there’s my little duck.” He teased.

Gwen eyeballed Yondu and pointed at him, “No waddle jokes. Why don’t you swallow a whole watermelon and see how well you walk.”

Yondu snickered at Gwen. He gave her a kiss and rubbed her oversized belly. “Where you headed?”

“Back to the room. Seelie and I were gonna hang out in the rec room but I convinced her to go talk to Kraglin. Apparently they had a tiff about some girl on our last stop?” She wondered if Yondu knew about what happened. She started down the hall again and Yondu followed after.

“Oh yeah,” Yondu chuckled, “He’s been a crab ass since we left the planet. I wondered why.”

“Did you see the girl hanging on him?”

“Yup, she was tryin’ to climb him like a tree.” Yondu shook his head at the memory.

“But Kraglin didn’t do anything wrong, right?” She asked.

“Oh no. Fact is, I think he had just told her about Seelie when it happened. I wouldn’t doubt if she was pissed and tryin’ to rile Seelie up, which seems to have worked.” Yondu opened the door for Gwen and walked in after her.

“Well that’s good then. Just a misunderstanding. Hopefully I talked some sense into her and Kraglin can smooth it over.” She set her tablet on the desk and turned to face Yondu with a smile, “If I got worked up every time a companion hung on you, I’d have had a heart attack months ago.”

Yondu smiled and held Gwen’s belly, “You can’t tell me you never got a bit jealous of them girls.”

Gwen looked up thoughtfully and shrugged, “A bit jealous, yeah. But I’m the one that got the ring.” She wrinkled one side of her nose and stuck her tongue out at Yondu before giving him another kiss. She waddled to the bed and crawled in, leaning up against the headboard.

“Seelie got us some more baby stuff at our last stop.” He pulled up a chair from the table and turned it around, straddling it and facing Gwen.

Gwen sneered, “Don’t you think we have enough?”

“We don’t know how fast he’ll grow. I was six foot by the time I was ten and that was even on slave food.” He nodded at her stomach, “And if that’s any indication, he’ll be outta most what we got in the first six months.”

Gwen looked down and frowned, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“We gotta bed, we got clothes and diapers and even Tullk and Horuz got some toys for the tike. Don’t know what else we need.”

“Maybe some bottles in case he won’t nurse. I’m sure Doc could come up with a formula for him too.”

“A’ight, I’ll throw it on the list for our next stop. We’re heading back to Xandar for supplies so they’ll be stocked with baby stuff.”

“Oh!” Gwen’s eyes went wide, “And a carrier!”

“A what?” Yondu raised an eyebrow.

“A carrier. Something I can carry him in. My sister had one with Robbie. It was like a little baby hammock she wore over her shoulders and she just snuggled him right up in it. I want one of them!”

Yondu chuckled, “Alright. Bottles and a baby hammock.”

Gwen thought for a moment. All this talk of the birth reminded her of another important appointment. “We’re probably going to miss Robbie’s birthday this year.” She pouted.

Yondu had an idea, “What if we ask Peter to go instead?”

“You think he’d be up for that?” Gwen raised her eyebrow at him curiously.

Yondu shrugged, “Don’t see why not. He likes your kin.”

“And what’s he gonna tell them about why I’m not there?” she wondered.

“Whatever we wanna tell ‘em. They don’t have’ta know yet.”

Gwen mulled the idea over in her head, “Okay, I guess we can ask.” Her train of thought derailed once again, “And you know we gotta come up with a name for him.” Gwen looked at Yondu sternly.

“I know,” Yondu leaned back, frowning, “Nuthin’ sounds right, though.”

Gwen grinned, “I’ve actually come up with an idea I think you might like.”

Yondu held up his hands, “Lay it on me.”


	17. Chapter 17

The next month went by, almost without a hitch. They had asked Peter about visiting Terra next month and he had agreed. They decided the best course of action was the keep the reason vague. That Gwen couldn’t make it and she would explain to them why at her next visit. The hitch was, that Seelie and Doc both grew concerned when Gwen could no longer walk unaided and was confined to her bed most of the time. It was then that they decided it would be best to remove the baby early.

“You can’t do that! He’s not done cooking!” Gwen protested, covering her stomach with her blankets.

“Gwen, he’s fine!” She showed her the pictures of her last sonogram. “His lungs are perfectly developed.”

Doc chimed in, hoping to ease her concerns, “In fact it seems he has grown almost on course with a Centurian baby. If you were a Centurian too, you would have delivered by now.”

Gwen held the covers up to her face, pressing her hands to her lips as she looked back and forth between the senior medic and the medic tech. “I’m scared.”

Seelie sighed and sat down on the bed next to Gwen, taking her hand and holding it comfortingly, “Oh sweetie, everything will be okay. We’ve got everything planned out. And we’ll make sure to be extra careful.”

Gwen looked back at Doc for reassurance.

“Everything’s all set up. We’re just waiting for the go ahead from you.” He said with a smile.

That wasn’t the reassurance she was looking for. She glanced back at Seelie, her brow furrowing, “I want Yondu.”

 

Yondu arrived about fifteen minutes later, “Hey little duck.” He smiled at Gwen, sitting down on the side of the bed and taking her hand, just as Seelie had done earlier.

Gwen looked at both Seelie and Doc timidly, “Would you guys mind giving us a minute?”

They both agreed and left the room. Yondu looked at Gwen curiously, “What’s goin’ on, missy?”

Gwen bit her lip nervously, “I’m scared Yondu.”

“There’s nothin’ to be scared of. They’ll take good care of you.” He tried to comfort her, even though his own stomach was doing flips.

Gwen shook her head, “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I’m afraid of what’s coming after. I’ve been so busy convincing you that you’ll be a good dad that it hadn’t occurred to me until now… what if I’m not a good mother?” Gwen’s pressed her lips together.

Yondu could see that the tears would be following soon. “No, no, no.” He held her head and kissed her forehead. “That ain’t gonna be a problem. Know how I know?” He looked her in the eyes.

“How?” Gwen frowned.

“Cause you’re already worried ‘bout bein’ a good momma.” He pressed his forehead to hers and smiled.

Gwen gave him half a smile, “Thanks.”

“So what’s say we get you to medbay and get this over with already?” He patted her hand and was about to stand up when Gwen stopped him.

“Wait. There’s one more thing I wanted to talk to you about.” Her face turned grim and serious.

“What’s that?” He eyed her cautiously.

Gwen waited a moment and then sighed, “I want them to tie my tubes while they’re in there.”

Yondu looked confused, “What’s that mean?”

“I want them to make me sterile, so this can’t happen again.” She said solemnly.

Yondu gave her a sorrowful and disgruntled look.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Gwen continued, “I love this baby and I’ll protect him fiercely, but this can’t happen again. Even if it’s a miniscule chance, it’s not something I think I’m willing to risk again.”

Yondu thought for a moment and then frowned at Gwen, “I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not?” Gwen asked defensively.

“If I died tomorrow and you wanted to be with someone else, someone stable… you’d be giving all that up. It ain’t fair to you.” He looked down, sadly.

“Yondu, I’m forty years old. I’ll likely never get pregnant again. And even if I did, it could be dangerous for both me and the baby, even with a Terran father.” She sighed and let go of his hand. “This is my decision. It’s what I want.”

After a few moments, Yondu huffed and nodded, patting Gwen’s hand again. “Okay.”


	18. Chapter 18

Yondu helped Gwen to the medbay. They walked slowly and laughed about their early romance and how they had gotten to where they were now. They reminisced about their first few weeks on the Milano with Peter and his crew, the first time she boarded the Eclector, and the times they spent on Earth with Gwen’s family. If it hadn’t been for the beach ball sized baby bump, they would have looked like an old married couple taking a slow stroll through a park.

They rounded the corner into the medbay and Gwen squeezed Yondu’s hand nervously.

He rubbed her back with the other “It’s okay baby. You got this.” He kissed her head lovingly.

Seelie smiled at Gwen and took her hand, “Come on little momma. You got a date with a handsome little man,” She looked over at Yondu and smirked, “And I’m not talking about you, daddy.”

Yondu chuckled and grinned thoughtfully, “Daddy, I think I’m gonna like that name.”

Seelie and Doc helped Gwen up into the bed and prepped her for surgery. Gwen asked doc about cutting her fallopian tubes and he nodded agreeably, letting her know that wouldn’t be a problem.

Seelie took Yondu aside and let him know what they would be doing to Gwen. That they would be putting her out and taking the baby through an incision in her stomach. She also let him know that they would be needing his help with the baby while they worked on Gwen and put her back together. That part made Yondu very nervous. He had never even held a baby before, and now he would have to hold his own while he was a mess worrying about his wife. She made him take off his jacket and vest and wash his hands thoroughly.

“Okay” Doc sighed, “We’re ready.” Gwen looked over at Yondu and smiled. He stood up and walked to her side. She held her hand to his face while doc gave her the cocktail to put her to sleep. Before he knew it, Yondu saw Gwen’s eyes roll into the back of her head, and her hand fell limp.

Inwardly, Yondu began to panic. What if she never woke up? What if the baby died? What if he didn’t, and he would be the only one left to care for him? Could he handle it on his own? Seelie took Yondu’s hand and smiled at him, gesturing for him to sit back down. He did, and he watched the woman he loved more than life itself be cut open to bring a new life into the world. A life he helped create. His attention was torn between her unconscious face, and her stomach. He waited impatiently for some sign for it to be over. It took so long for them to cut into her stomach, and then another eternity to pull the baby out. Yondu’s eyes widened and he felt his own stomach lurch when Doc reached in to pull the baby out. Seelie held Gwen’s limp body still while Doc gently pulled out the baby’s head. Yondu sat frozen, his eyes affixed on the baby’s blue head, covered in a blanket of matted, unruly black hair. Yondu let out an unintentional, quick burst of hysterical laughter. Of course he would have her hair. Just a few more seconds later and the baby was out. He was huge and chubby and blue, and as far as Yondu was concerned, he was perfect. Yondu stood up anxiously. He waited while Doc wiped him down and cleared his airway, and the little boy started to cry. Yondu thought it was the most wonderful, and the most annoying sound he had ever heard. He laughed to himself again, watching his son scrunch his face angrily. Doc handed the baby to Seelie, who cut and clamped his umbilical cord and then quickly wrapped him up in a blanket. She turned to Yondu and smiled widely, handing the screaming baby to his father.

Yondu stared, dumbfounded and overjoyed at the little being in his arms. “Hey now.” He said in a teasingly stern voice, “No more of that mess, ya hear?” He smiled at his son proudly, “You’re good now, boy. You’re good.” As Yondu sat back down with his son, the boy quickly calmed and blinked at his father, curiously taking in his face. Yondu’s eyes widened and he looked up at Seelie, shocked that the baby actually stopped crying.

Seelie, still helping Doc with Gwen, looked over her shoulder at the pair and smiled, “He recognizes your voice.”

“Well I’ll be. You know me, huh kiddo?” Yondu looked back down at the baby, whose heavy eyelids were starting to close.

“So have you guys picked out a name yet?” Seelie teased, “Or you just gonna call him ‘boy’ for the rest of his life?”

“Yeah we gotta name,” Yondu smiled at his sleeping son. “Stakar… Stakar Jacob Udonta.”


	19. Chapter 19

Yondu stared at the sleeping newborn for a good hour, waiting for Doc and Seelie to patch up Gwen. When they finished, Seelie walked over and put her hand on Yondu’s shoulder. “She’ll be out for a little bit longer, but when she’s coherent enough, you’re gonna have to hand that baby over to his momma.”

Yondu chuckled, “Yeah, yeah. I think I can handle that.”

Doc checked Gwen’s eyes and blood pressure and gave the nod to Yondu. “She’s good. I’m gonna go get cleaned up. I’ll be back in a bit.” He smiled at the baby and patted the new father hard on the back, “Congratulations Captain.”

Seelie put her hands on her hips and sighed, “You want me to hang out or can I go get cleaned up too?”

Yondu looked up and nodded, “Nah, we’re good. Go ahead.”

Seelie bent down and wrapped her arms around Yondu’s neck, “Ya done good, Captain Daddy.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and left.

Yondu snorted and shook his head as Seelie walked out and went back to staring at his new son.

 

Gwen’s eyes slowly blinked open. She looked around the room, realizing it was too quiet. Doc and Seelie were nowhere to be found. She looked to her left and saw Yondu leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, with his shoes propped up on her bed. Their son snuggled up on his chest as he gently patted the baby’s bottom. Gwen grinned, still unable to fully open her eyes. “Well damn. If that’s not the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Yondu peeked one eye open and grinned back, still patting Stakar’s bum, “I thought I was the sexiest thing you’d ever seen anyway?” He teased.

“Yeah but you just got a whole lot hotter.” She chuckled. Gwen slowly lifted her head and rubbed her face. She used her arms to gingerly slide herself up on the angled bed. “Dang. I still look pregnant.” She joked.

“We just pulled a ten pound baby out of your abdomen,” Seelie snarked, walking back into the room. “There’s gonna be some swelling.” She walked over and checked Gwen’s sutures. “Not to mention your uterus has to shrink back down. That’s going to take a few months.” Seelie huffed and looked over at Yondu, “What did I tell you about handing that baby over?” She teased.

Yondu’s eyes went wide and he gestured to Gwen, “She _just_ woke up. I was givin’ her a few more minutes.”

“Uh huh. You mean you were giving yourself a few more minutes.” She smirked.

“It’s okay.” Gwen grinned, “I was enjoying the view.”

“Now none of that, missy!” Seelie scolded, “No nookie for you for at _least_ two months.”

“Damnit.” Gwen grumbled halfheartedly and Yondu winked at her. “Gimme my baby, old man.” Gwen snarked, holding her arms out.

Yondu stood up and gently handed the baby to his mother, “Come meet your momma, little tike.”

Gwen grinned ear to ear, staring at her half Terran, half Centaurian baby boy. “Look at you, little one.” She brushed his hair out of his face and ran her finger over his chubby blue cheek. He rustled and turned his head towards her hand, trying to reach for her finger. “Yeah, you’re my little Stakar, aren’t you?” The baby grew more flustered the longer he was in his mother’s arms. His face contorted into a frown and he started to squeak.

“What’s this? He calms for me and cries for her?” Yondu asked Seelie.

“Huh?” Seelie looked over from the counter where she was filling out the necessary paperwork and chuckled. “He smells her. He knows she’s got the food.” She walked over and rubbed her finger on his cheek and he turned his head. “Yeah, he’s a hungry little bug.”

Without a second thought, Gwen pulled the top of her gown down and offered her breast to the baby.

Yondu jerked back, looking at Seelie uncomfortably, “In front of Seelie?”

Gwen snickered, “She knows what boobs are, Yondu.”

Seelie laughed, “Believe it or not, I have them too.”

The baby eagerly latched onto Gwen and began suckling. “Oh holy suction cups, batman!” Gwen gasped. She looked over at Yondu and then back at the baby. “This kid’s got one hell of a grip!”

Yondu grinned proudly and eyeballed Seelie, “Guess he knows what boobs are too.”

Gwen gave a heavy sigh and leaned back into the bed, cradling her son. She closed her eyes and squinted tight. “I don’t know which hurts worse, my stomach or my boob.”

“Either way you’re going to be pretty sore for a while. Rest and give yourself some time to heal.”

Gwen nodded and turned towards Yondu. He gave her a comforting smile and pushed her hair back, kissing her forehead.


	20. Chapter 20

“Karley?” Gwen peaked her head out of the bedroom door and shouted down the hallway. “Karley Jake?” She heard a small voice giggle back to her from one of the corridors, though she couldn’t tell which. She stood in her Ravager uniform in the middle of the hallway, with her hands on her hips. “Stakar Jacob, get your little blue butt back here, now!” Another squealy giggle echoed back to her. She ran towards the sound, but Stakar, or Karley as he was now known on the ship, was too fast for her. She heard his little feet patter down another hallway. She knew he wasn’t supposed to be playing. He was being naughty and she needed to find him, but his little game of hide and seek had her grinning anyway.

“Karley boy, I’m gonna find you.” She crooned to the little boy as she tip toed around another corner. She heard him squeal again and take off at a run in the opposite direction. Gwen smirked and chased after him.

Yondu’s heavy boots were rounding the corner when the little boy slammed right into him. “What’s goin’ on here!” Yondu barked to the toddler and Karley screamed excitedly. Yondu grabbed Karley by the waist and threw him up in the air, making the boy giggle happily. He held him close and tickled the little boy’s belly as he laughed.

Gwen ran around the corner and gave her son a scolding look, “Karley Jake, what have I told you about running off?”

Yondu gave Karley a stern scowl, “You know better than to disobey your momma, boy.”

“Sowwy Daddy.” Karley hugged his daddy around the neck and Yondu patted him on the back.

“Tell your momma you’re sorry.” Yondu handed the boy back to his mother.

“Sowwy Momma.” Karley hugged Gwen tight and kissed her cheek.

“Alright, now let’s go take that bath, mister.”

Yondu gave Gwen a hesitant look and stopped her before she walked off, “Hey, I gotta go take care of some business before I head back to the room. I’ll help you put him to bed in a bit.”

Gwen looked back at him inquisitively, “Everything okay?” He was usually done with ship business by dinner time and they didn’t have any new jobs since last week, that she knew of, so this bit of ‘business’ seemed odd to her.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I’ll be back in a bit.” He patted her on the butt and kissed her before walking off.

“Alright Karley boy, let’s get you ready for bed.” Gwen headed back to the room with her toddler baby clutched in her arms. She wasn’t about to let him go again. He was a runner, and he was fast.

 

It had been almost a year since she gave birth to Stakar, but he grew like a weed. According to Doc, he was both physically and mentally the equivalent age of a three year old Terran. But just like his growth in the womb, he was just about right on track for a Centaurian. It seemed he got most of his daddy’s genes. He was almost genetically identical to his father, minus the fin. The only things he seemed to get from his mother were her hazel eyes and her black hair. But Gwen didn’t mind at all. To her, he was the most beautiful and remarkable child ever. He wasn’t as strong as a Centaurian, but he was still much stronger than a Terran. Yondu liked that just fine, because then he would never have to worry about his son challenging him as he got older. Or at the very least, he would never win. 

Peter had visited Gwen’s family the weekend of Robbie’s eleventh birthday, almost one month after Karley’s birth. As much as they pestered and prodded him for information, he refused to reveal why she couldn’t be there. Only that she was doing fine, but just couldn’t make it out that year and she apologized for missing his birthday. Peter gave Gwen the lowdown on how the party went and gave her pictures that Marianna, Gwen’s mother, had given him for her. Gwen hung them proudly on the glass doors of the liquor cabinet next to the dining table in their room. She showed them to Karley often, letting him know who they all were. She didn’t want him to miss out on family just because they lived out in the middle of space.

Seelie stayed on with the crew after Karley’s birth. Just like most of the ship, she fell in love with the little Centerran immediately. She couldn’t imagine parting with either him or Kraglin, or Gwen for that matter. Seelie looked up to Gwen like a big sister. She helped her anytime she was having problems with Kraglin, and they bonded over being the only two females on the ship. She also helped out with watching Karley anytime Gwen was working with Yondu, or they needed ‘alone time’. She loved to take him all over the ship, playing hide and seek and tag. He would run around the rec room, jumping on furniture and bouncing off the walls while Seelie chased him down and tickling him when she caught him. She only ever caught him when he wanted to be caught though. Seelie knew it, but she acted excited every time he let her, just to watch him laugh and giggle. The only one who was ever actually able to catch Stakar was Yondu. But he didn’t have to run after him very often. Usually all it took was a stern growl from his father and he would straighten up.

 

“Momma, is my birfday nex week!” Karley smiled widely at his mother.

“I know! Aren’t you excited?” She encouraged as they walked back into the room.

“We gonna hab a pardy?” He asked, wide eyed.

“That’s right.” Gwen stood him up on the bed and he began bouncing up and down while Gwen tried to strip his clothes off of him. “And Uncle Peter is coming too!”

“Yay!” Karley bounced even higher. He loved spending time with his funny Uncle Peter and his friends.

“Okay, okay. Let’s get you in the tub Karley boy.” Gwen chuckled at his exuberance.

 

Gwen gave Karley a bath that ended up drenching her and about half of the bathroom floor. There was nothing this kid did half-assed. With Karley Jake, it was all or nothing. He had his father’s energy and he loved to use it. As soon as she pulled him out of the tub and dried him off, Karley took off like a dart. He ran around the room like a bullet, climbing up and over the bed and the couch when they got in his way.

“Look Momma! I nekked!” Karley squealed.

Gwen ran for the bedroom door and stood in front of it like a goalie. The last thing she needed was to chase down a naked blue streak running through the ship. Especially while his father was doing ‘business’.

Just then, Karley stopped quick in front of the window. He stared out, blinking into the stars. “What dat, Momma?”

Gwen’s stomach sank. She ran to the window and grabbed Karley, turning him to embrace him in a hug. “Don’t you worry about nothing out there, baby.” She patted him on the back while looking closer out the window. Sure enough, there were at least four silhouetted bodies floating out into space. Gwen now understood what that ‘business’ was that Yondu needed to take care of. She swallowed hard, “Come on buddy. Let’s get your jammies on.”

 

Gwen had just finished dressing Karley for bed when Yondu walked in.

“Daddy!” he jumped up and ran to his father.

“There’s my Karley boy!” Yondu grinned and scooped the toddler up, tossing him into the air before hugging him tight. Karley laid his head down on Yondu’s shoulder and yawned. He handed the boy back to Gwen. He let out a deep sigh and took his jacket off, hanging it over the back of a chair. Gwen gave him a knowing look and he just shook his head in exasperation. He walked to the closet in the bathroom and pulled out a hanger.

“Some of those new boys you just hired?” Gwen asked casually, so as not to scare Karley. She brushed the boy’s hair and he yawned again.

“Yup.” Yondu took off his vest and hung it on the hanger. “Some of ‘em seem to’ve thought me havin’ a little one runnin’ around meant I was easy pickins.” He hung his coat over the vest and hung them up in the closet.

“Welp,” she said as she tucked Karley into their bed, kissing him on his forehead before his eyes faded into sleep, “at least the rest of ‘em know now how wrong they were.” She stood up and hugged Yondu around the waist.

Yondu kissed Gwen hotly, grabbing her neck and the small of her back. He pulled away with a smile and walked over to the bed to kiss his son goodnight. He stared at him for a long moment, brushing his shaggy hair out of his eyes. Yondu spoke softly, not wanting to wake the boy, “It’s my job to keep you two safe, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone try to hurt either of you.”

Gwen leaned over and rubbed Yondu’s shoulders, kissing him on his back. “Come take a bath with me.”

They both walked into the bathroom with Yondu shutting the door behind them. “We gotta get a lock on the inside of that door to the hallway, now that the little stinker knows how to open it.”

Gwen chuckled, unbuttoning Yondu’s shirt, “Get Gef down here to take care of it. But you know it won’t be long before he figures out the code, and then we’ll really be screwed.” She pulled his shirt off and tossed it in the pile in the closet.

Yondu scoffed and shook his head, “That kid is too smart for his own good.” He turned on the water, waiting for it to warm up. “He gets that from his momma.” He smirked.

“Nah,” Gwen took out her ponytail and pulled off her shirt, “He gets that from you, just like everything else.”

Yondu unsnapped Gwen’s bra and pulled it off. He kissed her neck lustfully and grabbed himself a handful.

Gwen giggled, “Hey now. We made a deal, no naughty business with Karley in the room.” Her eyes rolled in the back of her head. She was trying really hard to keep her word, but he wasn’t making it easy.

“I don’t see him in here, do you?” he mumbled and then went back to tending to her neck.

Gwen scoffed and smacked Yondu on the arm, “He’s in the _bed_ room, it counts.”

Yondu smirked at her and unbuttoned her pants, “If we lived in a regular house, he’d still be just a room away. You’d condemn me to celibacy then?”

Gwen thought about it for a moment and then looked back at Yondu with a grin. “This is why you’re the smart one.” She kissed him fervently and grabbed for the buttons on his pants. She got them undone, but then he pulled away.

“Hang on.” He said excitedly. He cracked the door open and peaked out to make sure the boy was still fast asleep on the bed. He closed it quietly, and then he unplugged the tub, but kept the water running. “Background noise.” He winked at her before ripping her pants off and picking her up by the waist. Gwen giggled and they made love with her pinned up against the back wall.

 

After their bath, Gwen and Yondu climbed into bed, one on each side of the sleeping boy. Gwen turned to face Yondu, and Yondu to Gwen. They laid there, staring into each other’s eyes for a long time while Gwen stroked Karley’s hair. She finally looked down at her son and sighed. “My heart is so full,” she whispered.

Yondu smiled and pushed Gwen’s hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek with his thumb, “Can’t be more than mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is only the beginning for Karley Jake. The story got away from me, so I decided to break it up as the second half goes in a much different direction. Thanks for reading!


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